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CELEBRATION 



ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT IN THE 
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



COMPILED BY 



WILLIAM V. COX. 



UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING. 



WASHINGTON : 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1 9 o I . 



c 






AUG 2 1902 
D. of D. 




THE CENTENNIAL CELEBES 

OF THE ESTABLISHMENT 



45; $4, 




lAT-OF-GOVERNMENT'n™*DISTRICT-OF-COLUMBIA- 



1900. 



REPORT OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE. 

At a meeting of the committee held on December 20, 1900, 
and on motion of Mr. Edson, the committee requested the 
secretary to undertake the preparation of a report on the 
Centennial Celebration. 



AUTHORIZATION TO PRINT REPORT. 1 

"To print the report of the Committee on the Centennial 
Celebration of the Establishment of the Seat of Government 
in the District of Columbia, held in the city of Washington, 
December twelfth, nineteen hundred, together with the pro- 
ceedings and public addresses on the commemoration of that 
event, in a memorial volume, with suitable illustrations as 
selected by the committee, one thousand five, hundred copies 
for the use of the Senate, three thousand copies for the use 
of the House of Representatives, and two thousand five hun- 
dred copies for distribution by the citizens' committee on the 
celebration, five thousand five hundred dollars, or so much 
thereof as may be necessary; of which amount the sum of five 
hundred dollars shall be available for the preparation of the 
report and for obtaining the necessary material for illustrating 
the same. That the work shall be done under the direction 
of the Joint Committee on Printing." 

■ An act making appropriations to supply deficiencies in the appropriations for 
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1901, and for prior years, and for other purposes. 
(Approved March 3, 1 901. Public, 136.) 

5 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

List of illustrations 9 

Introductory 13 

Inception of plan and preliminary work of committees 17 

Proceedings of the meeting of the joint committee, February 21, 1900 29 

Completion of arrangements 41 

Da}' of the Centennial celebration 55 

Programme 57 

Reception and exercises at the White House 59 

Parade, and review by the President of the United States 79 

Exercises at the Capitol '. 99 

Reception at the Corcoran Gallery of Art 131 

Personnel of committees 135 

Powers and duties of committees 155 

Committee meetings 163 

Banquet by the Board of Trade 167 

Decoration and illumination 176 

Souvenir medal and badge 1S3 

Congressional action 1S5 

Finance 211 

Appendix 219 

7 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Portraits of Presidents Adams and McKinley (1S00-1900) Frontispiece 

Page. 

Plate 1. City of Washington, 1800 13 

2. Pennsylvania avenue, Washington, 1834 17 

3. An early view of the city of Washington 21 

4. Washington and Georgetown in 1S12 25 

5. Washington about 1S40 29 

6. Washington City from the Monument, 1900 33 

7. White House, Hoban's design, 1792 37 

8. White House, 1799, after sketch by N. King 39 

9. White House, south front, 1900 41 

10. White House, east front, 1900 45 

11. White House, north front, 1900 49 

12. Official programme 5§ 

13. Model of proposed enlargement of the White House, north front. . . 62 

14. Model of proposed enlargement of the White House, south front. . 64 

15. President McKinley leaving the White House, December 12, 1900. . 79 

16. Centennial parade, December 12, 1900 Si 

17. Pennsylvania avenue, Washington, 1900 . . . '. S3 

iS. The Capitol, 1830-1S50 S5 

19. The Capitol from Maryland avenue 87 

20. The Capitol in 1900 93 

21. President McKinley on the reviewing stand, December 12, 1900. ... 96 

22. East front of the Capitol, showing the President's reviewing stand, 

December 12, 1900 99 

23. President McKinley, Cabinet, Supreme Court, and Congress at the 

Capitol, December 12, 1900 10S 

24. Exercises in the House of Representatives, December 12, 1900 112 

25-26. Buildings used for early Congresses 118, 126 

' 1. Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. 

2. State House, Philadelphia. Pa, 

3. Congress House, Baltimore, Md. 

4. Old Court-House, York, Pa. 

5. Nassau Hall, Princeton, N, J. 

6. State House, Annapolis, Md. 

7. Old Court-House, Trenton, N. J. 
S. Federal Hall, New York, N. Y. 

9 



io List of Illustrations, 

Page. 
Plate 27. Invitation to reception at Corcoran Gallery of Art, December 12, 

19 00 J 33 

28. Main stairway, Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1900 135 

29. Medal of the National Capital Centennial 1S4 

30. Plan for the treatment of that section of the city of Washington 

situated south of Pennsylvania avenue 32S 

31. Transverse road-crossing for the Mall 32S 

32. Perspective toward south, from corner of Pennsylvania avenue and 

Fifteenth street NW 328 

33. Working plan showing approximate grades and drains for the 

treatment of that section of the District of Columbia situated 
south of Pennsylvania avenue and north of B street SW 328 

34. Parkway between proposed Memorial Bridge and Rock Creek 328 

35. Exhibit of early literature relating to the District of Columbia, 

Library of Congress, 1900 337 

PLANS OF WASHINGTON AND THE DISTRICT OF COLOMBIA. 



36. The " I/Enfant Map," 1790 

37. Engraved plan of Washington, 1800 

38. Defenses of Washington during the civil war, 1865 . 

39. Map of the District of Columbia, 1901 



[After 343 




PRESIDENT dOHN ADAMS, 1f 




PRESIDENT WILLIAM McKINLEY, 1900. 



CELEBRATION 

OF THE 

ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY 



ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT 
IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



In the last month of the last year of the nineteenth century 
the centenary of the establishment of the seat of Government 
in the District of Columbia was appropriately celebrated in 
the city of Washington by the representatives of the nation 
and of the District of Columbia. The 12th of December, 
1900, was the day selected, at the instance of President 
McKinley, in order to have the celebration occur during the 
session of Congress. As the Federal Government began to 
move into the Federal district in May, 1800, and the executive 
and legislative branches were in full operation in Washing- 
ton by November of that year, when Congress met in extra- 
ordinary session, although the Supreme Court of the United 
States did not meet in Washington until February, 1S01, 
there was no one day which stood out in the record of 1800 
so conspicuously as to demand special recognition in the 
celebration. 

Everything, including the weather, conspired to make 
the celebration in every way successful. The President of 
the United States, the Congress, the Supreme Court, the 
ambassadors and ministers of foreign powers, Governors of 
States and Territories, by personal participation and in 
other ways, contributed cordially to produce this result. 
The national character of the event was emphasized by them, 
and they secured not only national but international atten- 
tion for it. For that day the eyes of the world were fixed 
upon the District of Columbia distinctively as they never 



14 Establishment of the Seat of Governmeut. 

were before. The citizens of the District of Columbia who 
proposed the celebration, and who did most of the work of 
planning and preparation, had a special and intimate pride in 
it which was highly gratified by its success. They rejoiced 
with civic patriotism to see their home, which is also the 
National Capital, honored by the National Government and 
by the representatives of all the Governments of the world. 
They realized that the District of Columbia had made the 
most of its first centennial birthday, and in so doing had 
acquired new dignity and importance, and had received a new 
recognition of its claims and needs, its beauties and its pos- 
sibilities, which would prove invaluable to it in the future. 
They had tangible proof during the remainder of the session 
of Congress, in the enactment of important and much-needed 
legislation and the increase of appropriations for the future 
improvement of the District, of the practical value of this 
recognition. 

The celebration was simple and dignified. There was 
nothing spectacular and nothing meretricious in the events 
of the day. It was not calculated to draw great quantities of 
visitors, but it did draw visitors of the highest quality. On 
no other occasion, for example, were so many governors of 
States and Territories ever gathered together, and the signifi- 
cance of their presence, as representatives of the States, was 
very evident in all the proceedings. 

The general scheme of the celebration contemplated an 
exhibition of the development both of the nation and of the 
national capital during the century in addresses by eminent 
men representing both, who should also indicate the possi- 
bilities of development for the United States and the District 
of Columbia in the future. Certain social entertainments, an 
escort procession representing the Army, the Navy, the 
National Guard, and other uniformed organizations, military 
in character, together with suitable decoration of the city of 
Washington, especially with the national flag, which was 
used more extensively than ever before, naturally accom- 
panied the more important features of the programme. 

Three addresses were delivered in the morning at the 
■Executive Mansion (the first formal addresses ever delivered in 



Introdtictory. 15 

that place), and five were delivered in the afternoon before the 
joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives 
in the Hall of the House of Representatives. On both occa- 
sions the President and his Cabinet, the Supreme Court, 
governors of States and Territories, the Lieutenant-General 
of the Army, the Admiral of the Navy, and other distin- 
guished men were present. The ambassadors and ministers 
of foreign Governments were present at the exercises in the 
Hall of the House of Representatives. 

The arrangements for the celebration were made, by 
authority of an act of Congress, under the direction of a 
joint executive committee, made up of representatives of the 
two Houses of Congress, of the Governors of the States and 
Territories, and of citizens of the District of Columbia. The 
details of the preparations were confided by this committee 
to the National Capital Centennial Committee, composed of 
citizens of the District of Columbia. This committee organ- 
ized suitable subcommittees. The very general desire of 
citizens to serve upon these committees made the member- 
ship large, and they included members of every important 
organization in the District of Columbia. The Commis- 
sioners of the District of Columbia, as its executive govern- 
ment, had a prominent part in the preparations and the 
proceedings, the District of Columbia, through these official 
representatives, being given its proper place among the 
States and Territories. The members of all the committees 
labored with indefatigable zeal. 

In the early deliberations of the joint committee it was 
proposed that the celebration should be marked by the begin- 
ning of some great national improvement within the District 
of Columbia, and several such projects were suggested. Con- 
gress in its wisdom, however, did not see fit to provide for the 
beginning of any work of that character at that time. It 
authorized, however, the preparation of plans for the enlarge- 
ment of the Executive Mansion, which were exhibited on 
Centennial Day, and also the preparation of a project for the 
general improvement of the park system of the District of 
Columbia, upon which, under the direction of the Senate 
Committee on the District of Columbia, a commission of 



1 6 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

experts is to report at trie first session of the Fifty-seventh 
Congress. 1 

The expenses of the celebration proper were met by the 
contributions of the citizens of the District of Columbia. 
Congress appropriated money to meet the expenses of the 
Governors of States and Territories attending the meetings 
of the committee at large, and also for the preparation and 
publication of the report of the celebration, prepared under 
the authority of the joint committee. 

The total amount expended from the Congressional appro- 
priation in connection with the attendance of the Governors 
was $3,613, as shown in the report of Mr. George W. Evans, 
Disbursing Clerk of the Interior Department, who was 
charged by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary 
of the Interior with the disbursement of this appropriation. 

1 A special committee consisting of Senator McMillan of Michigan, Senator Gal- 
linger of New Hampshire, and Senator Martin of Virginia, with Dr. Charles Moore 
as secretary, was appointed to report a plan for the improvement of the entire park 
svstem of the District of Columbia. On March 19 this committee met Mr. Robert 
S. Peabody, president of the American Institute of Architects, and the legislative 
committee of that body. After a discussion of the problem Mr. Boring, for the 
Institute committee, recommended that Mr. Daniel H. Burnham, of Chicago, form- 
erly director of the World's Fair, and Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, jr., of Brook- 
line, Mass., be requested to prepare the contemplated plan, with power to select a 
third member to act with them. These recommendations having been adopted by 
the committee, Mr. Charles F. McKim, of New York City, was selected to serve as 
the third member of the commission. Mr. Augustus St. Gaudens has also been 
added to the commission. 



INCEPTION OF PLAN AND PRELIMINARY 
WORK OF COMMITTEES. 



H. Doc. 552 2 



INCEPTION OP PLAN AND PRELIMINARY WORK 
OF COMMITTEES. 



In October, 1898, the attention of some of the prominent 
citizens of the District of Columbia was directed to the fact 
that the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of 
the permanent seat of Government in the District would occur 
in 1900, and the suggestion of celebrating this event met 
with so much favor that, upon informal invitations extended 
to representative citizens of the District and through pub- 
lished notices in the local papers by Mr. W. S. McKean, one 
of those who first proposed such a celebration, a meeting was 
held on the evening of October 24, 1898, at the Lenman 
Building in Washington City, for the purpose of organizing, 
with a view to preparing for appropriate ceremonies. 

The president of the Board of Commissioners of the Dis- 
trict, Hon. John B. Wight, was present and consented to act 
as chairman of the meeting, Mr. McKean being chosen secre- 
tary. On motion of Mr. Charles B. Bayly it was declared to 
be the unanimous sense of the meeting that the citizens of 
the District should celebrate in some appropriate manner 
the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the 
National Capital in the District of Columbia. 

During the course of the meeting the chairman was author- 
ized to appoint a committee of nine citizens, with himself as 
chairman ex officio, to take the matter into consideration and 
to report to a second public meeting, which he should convene 
at the proper time. 

The following named gentlemen were invited to form this 
committee, of whom the seven first mentioned had previously 
acted as chairmen of inaugural committees: Messrs. James G. 
Berret, Charles J. Bell, John Joy Edson, Myron M. Parker, 



20 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

A. T. Britton, John W. Thompson, Lawrence Gardner, 
Theodore W. Noyes, and R. Ross Perry. 

All of these gentlemen having accepted the appointment, 
the first meeting of the citizens' committee was held on 
Wednesday, November i, 1898, when a majority of the mem- 
bers were present, and it was the unanimous opinion of the 
meeting that, inasmuch as the celebration had as the object 
of commemoration the establishment of the capital of the 
nation in the District of Columbia, it should be national in 
character, and that before determining upon any plans, a con- 
ference should be had with the President of the United States, 
who later consented to receive the committee on November 14. 

On the morning of that day the President met the commit- 
tee, and he was handed by Commissioner Wight the following 
memorial, explanatory of the object sought by the committee 
on behalf of the citizens of the District of Columbia: 

The citizens of the National Capital appreciate the fact that the year 
1900 will be the centennial of events in the nation's hist ory which, while 
they are general in character, are directly related to our city and the 
District of Columbia. 

The one hundredth anniversary of the laying of the corner stone of 
the Capitol was properly commemorated by our citizens on September 18, 
1893, but the approaching events to which we refer are of larger impor- 
tance and demand more general notice. 

In May, 1800, the archives and general offices of the Federal Govern- 
ment were removed to this place. On the 17th of November, 1800, the 
National Congress met here for the first time, and assumed executive 
control of the Federal district and city. 

This may be said to have been the establishment of the city of Wash- 
ington as the permanent capital of the United States, the legal require- 
ments being fully complied with when Congress met in regular session 
on the first Monday in December, 1800, in accordance with the act of 
July 16, 1799, which reads as follows: 

"And be it further enacted ', That on the first Monday in December, in 
the year 1800, the seat of government of the United States shall, by 
virtue of this act, be transferred to the district and place aforesaid. ' ' 

At a meeting of citizens held on the 24th of October the chairman 
was authorized to appoint a committee of nine citizens who should con- 
sider plans for the proper celebration of this centennial and report their 
recommendations at a meeting to be called for that purpose. 

It is the opinion of this committee that the national character of this 
event and the peculiar conditions which do now, and doubtless will, 



Preliminary Work of Committees. 21 

surround our national history, make it desirable to elevate the celebration 
beyond purely local aspects. It marks the creation and growth of the 
capital of a great country; it indicates the rapidly opening possibilities 
of our future. The country has, apparently, completed one phase of its 
development. The coming century opens for it a world-wide field which 
it has not hitherto sought to enter. Within our borders we have a 
united and prosperous people. 

In order that this subject may be brought to the attention of Congress 
in a manner suited to the dignity and importance of the occasion, we 
have the honor to request that you will suggest in your annual message 
to Congress such legislation as will provide for the appointment of a 
national committee, consisting of five Senators and five Representatives, 
to be appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 
House, respectively, who shall act with the committee appointed by the 
citizens of the District of Columbia, and that you be empowered to 
further increase this committee by the addition of citizens at large. 

It is also suggested that you invite the Governors of the several States 
and Territories to act as members of this committee, which, when finally 
constituted, shall be authorized to report to Congress a suitable plan for 
the celebration of the event. 

It might be added that the committee already appointed are unani- 
mously of the opinion that so important an event could well be marked 
by the erection of a type of architecture which will in itself inspire 
patriotism and a broader love of country, such as a memorial hall, a 
bridge connecting the District of Columbia with the sacred ground of 
Arlington, or some other permanent structure which would commemo- 
rate not only the occasion but also the exceptionally happy condition of 
our people at this time, when to so marked a degree there is noticed the 
absence of all sectional feeling and the prevalence of good will throughout 
the land. 

Mr. Berret further explained the views of the committee, 
giving special prominence to the idea that the celebration 
should be national in character, and expressing the hope of 
the citizens of the District of Columbia that some permanent 
structure might be erected in the city of Washington in 
commemoration of the event. 

The President assured the committee that he was in full 
sympathy with its aims. Referring to the mention in the 
memorial of a committee to represent the country at large, he 
suggested that it might be appropriate for the governor of 
each State and Territory to be appointed to constitute such a 
committee. He further advised that before the committee 
definitely outlined its plan for the celebration Congress be 



22 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

asked for its official approval and for authorization for the 
President to appoint representatives of the country at large 
to cooperate with committees of the two Houses of Congress 
and the citizens' committee of the District of Columbia. He 
promised to comply with the request contained in the memo- 
rial that he make reference to the matter in his next message 
to Congress, which he did, on December 5, 1898, in the fol- 
lowing words : 

In the year 1900 will occur the centennial anniversary of the founding 
of the city of Washington for the permanent capital of the Government 
of the United States by authority of an act of Congress approved July 
16, 1790. In May, 1800, the archives and general offices of the Federal 
Government were removed to this place. On the 17th of November, 
1800, the National Congress met here for the first time, and assumed 
exclusive control of the Federal district and city. This interesting event 
assumes all the more significance when we recall the circumstances 
attending the choosing of the site, the naming of the capital in honor 
of the Father of his country, and the interest taken by him in the adop- 
tion of plans for its future development on a magnificent scale. 

These original plans have been wrought out with a constant progress 
and a signal success even beyond anything their framers could have 
foreseen. The people of the country are justly proud of the distinct 
beauty and government of the capital, and of the rare instruments of 
science and education which here find their natural home. 

A movement lately inaugurated by the citizens to have the anniversary 
celebrated with fitting ceremonies, including perhaps the establishment 
of a handsome permanent memorial to mark so historical an occasion, 
and to give it more than local recognition, has met with general favor on 
the part of the public. 

I recommend to Congress the granting of an appropriation for this 
purpose and the appointment of a committee from its respective bodies. 
It might also be advisable to authorize the President to appoint a com- 
mittee from the country at large, which, acting with the Congressional 
and District of Columbia committees, can complete the plans for an 
appropriate national celebration. 

On December 7, 1898, a select committee of seven members 
was appointed by the Senate, while ten members of the 
House of Representatives were appointed as a similar com- 
mittee on December 12 of the following year. The Senate 
committee consisted of Hon. George F. Hoar, chairman; Hon. 
Eugene Hale, Hon. Alexander S. Clay, Hon. John L. 
McLaurin, Hon. George C. Perkins, Hon. Joseph Simon, and 



Preliminary Work of Committees. 23 

Hon. Thomas B. Turley. The members of the House com- 
mittee were Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, chairman; Hon. Joseph 
W. Bailey, Hon. John C. Bell, Hon. William S. Cowherd, 
Hon. Marion De Vries, Hon. Robert J. Gamble, Hon. William 
W. Grout, Hon. Joel P. Heatwole, Hon. James A. Hemenway, 
and Hon. James S. Sherman. 

A meeting of the committee of nine, appointed at the pub- 
lic meeting on October 24, was held in the rooms of the 
Washington Board of Trade on December 9, 1898, at 4.30 
o'clock, for the purpose of drafting a bill to be introduced in 
Congress, authorizing the appointment by the President of a 
committee to represent the country at large. 

A joint resolution, substantially as drafted by the commit- 
tee, was introduced both in the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, and the resolution originating in the former body 
passed in the following form: 

Pubuc, No. 84. — AN ACT to provide for an appropriate national celebration of the 
establishment of the seat of government in the District of Columbia. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, The President is authorized to 
appoint a committee from the country at large, of such number as he shall 
think proper, to act with any committees that may be appointed by the 
two Houses of Congress, or either of them, and with any committee that 
maybe appointed from the citizens of the District of Columbia, who may 
prepare plans for an appropriate national celebration, in the year nine- 
teen hundred, of the first session of Congress in the District and the 
establishment of the seat of Government therein. Said committee shall 
report their proceedings to the President, to be by him communicated to 
Congress. 

Sec 2. The actual expenses of the members of said committee so 
appointed by the President shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury 
on vouchers to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sec 3. The sum of ten thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may 
be necessary, is hereby appropriated from any money in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, to carry into effect the second section of 
this act. 

Approved, February 28, 1899. 

In accordance with the resolution adopted at the citizens' 
meeting held October 24, and the committee then appointed 
being prepared to report, the chairman issued a call for a sec- 
ond public meeting, which occurred on Saturday, December 



24 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

17, at 8 o'clock, in Willard's Hall, for the special purpose of 
receiving the report. The chairman gave an account of the 
progress which had been made up to that time, stating that 
the committee had endeavored to secure the widest and most 
beneficial results for the District of Columbia, and hoped 
that its action would meet with general approval. Should 
the joint resolution introduced in Congress become a law 
(which, as has been stated, proved to be the case), it was his 
wish that the Congressional committee, the committee from 
the country at large, and the citizens' committee be called 
together for definitely outlining plans, and that when plans 
had been agreed upon, a second bill be prepared for presen- 
tation to Congress, requesting authority to carry them out, 
and asking for such an appropriation as might be deemed 
necessary. 

A resolution, offered by Mr. William Dickson, was then 
unanimously adopted, as follows: 

Resolved, That the report of the committee be, and it is hereby, 
adopted, and that the committee of nine appointed by the chairman of 
the citizens' organization be, and it is hereby, authorized and empowered, 
in connection with the committees appointed under resolutions intro- 
duced into the Senate and House, to assist in the formulation and 
execution of all plans for the celebration. 

The first meeting of the committee of nine, as the author- 
ized and empowered citizens' committee to represent the 
District of Columbia, was held in the rooms of the Washing- 
ton Board of Trade on the evening of January 25, 1899, when 
Mr. Lawrence Gardner was chosen secretary. After having 
stated that on January 12 he had, upon invitation, appeared 
before the Senate committee and presented the views of the 
citizens' committee as to the initial steps to be taken, the 
chairman was authorized to appoint a committee of three to 
consider and recommend tentative plans upon which could 
be based an estimate of the amount of funds necessary to 
meet all the expenses of the local features of the celebration. 
This committee was composed of Messrs. Noyes, Bell, and 
Gardner. 

The chairman was also authorized to designate a member 
to act as chairman of a finance committee, the members of 



Preliminary Work of Committees. 25 

which should be selected from the citizens of the District of 
Columbia by the chairman of that committee and himself, 
the duty of this committee being to secure subscriptions from 
the public. 

It was announced at this meeting that the Washington 
Board of Trade had on January 6 adopted the following reso- 
lution, heartily indorsing the Centennial movement, which 
had been reported by Mr. Marion Dorian from the committee 
on mercantile interests: 

Whereas it is proposed to celebrate, in 1900, with proper ceremonies, 
the one hundredth anniversary of the removal of the seat of the Federal 
Government to Washington, and as this celebration will be national in 
character, and should be of such magnificence as to reflect credit not 
only upon the Nation, but upon our beautiful city and its public-spirited 
citizens as well; therefore the Washington Board of Trade pledges its 
aid and cooperation to the committees, official and civic, having the 
arrangements in charge, and \>y its influence and zeal will help to make 
of the occasion a success commensurate with the importance of the 
events to be celebrated. 

Among other organizations of the District which formally 
indorsed the movement were the Columbia Historical Society, 
the Oldest Inhabitants' Association, and the Business Men's 
Association, the latter having on December 6, 1898, adopted 
the following resolution: 

Resolved, That this board of directors of the Business Men's Associ- 
ation of Washington, D. C, heartil}' approve the movement, already 
inaugurated, to properly celebrate in 1900 the centennial anniversary of 
the location of the permanent seat of Government in this city, and pledge 
to that movement its most earnest support. 

The joint resolution drafted by the citizens' committee and 
introduced in Congress, was passed by the Senate on January 
28, 1899, and two days later by the House of Representatives, 
It authorized the President to appoint a committee from the 
country at large, and appropriated $10,000 to meet the 
necessary expenses of the members. It was approved by the 
President on February 28. 

In accordance with the authority given at the meeting of 
the citizens' committee on January 25, the chairman desig- 
nated Mr. Myron M. Parker to serve as chairman of the finance 
committee, and at a meeting held February 2 it was deemed 



26 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

best to combine that office and the one of treasurer, and Mr. 
Parker kindly consented to serve in both capacities. 

At a meeting held in the rooms of the Washington Board 
of Trade on the afternoon of October 30, 1899, a special com- 
mittee, consisting of Messrs. Bell, Noyes, and Parker, was 
chosen to consider and suggest a plan of celebration, recom- 
mending also the date on which it should be held and its 
general character, together with any features in respect to 
which national and State legislation might be deemed neces- 
sary or desirable. This committee's report, presented shortly 
afterwards, was adopted and formed the basis of the recom- 
mendations of the citizens' committee to the committees of 
Congress and from the country at large. 

Occasion was taken at this meeting to deplore the deaths 
of two members of the citizens' committee, Messrs. Britton- 
and Gardner. The names of Messrs. Beriah Wilkins and 
William V. Cox, as their respective successors, were presented 
by the chairman, and these gentlemen were duly appointed. 
On November 6, the date of the next meeting, Mr. Cox was 
chosen secretary of the committee. 

Closely following this date, the Board of Trade considered 
plans for the suitable entertainment of the Governors and 
members of the Congressional and citizens' committees on 
the occasion of a meeting of the several committees to be 
organized as a joint committee, which was called first for the 
21st of December, 1899, but afterwards postponed until Feb- 
ruary 21, 1900. The hospitality extended by the Board of 
Trade took the form of a banquet at the Arlington Hotel on 
the evening of the same day, and a full account of this enter- 
tainment will be found elsewhere in this volume. 

In his annual message to Congress of December 5, 1899, 
the President informed that body of the appointment of the 
Governors of the States and Territories as a committee from 
the country at large, to act with the Congressional committees 
and the citizens' committee, in the following words: 

In accordance with the act of Congress providing for an appropriate 
national celebration in the year 1900 of the establishment of the seat of 
Government in the District of Columbia, I have appointed a committee 
consisting of the Governors of all the States and Territories of the United 



Preliminary Work of Committees. 27 

States, who have been invited to assemble in the city of Washington on 
the 21st of December, 1899, which, with the committees of the Congress 
and the District of Columbia, are charged with the proper conduct of 
this celebration. 

A conference of the citizens' committee with the Senate 
committee was held on December 7, 1899, and a second con- 
ference with both of the Congressional committees on the 
15th of the same month, at which the citizens' committee was 
requested to submit plans for consideration. It was under- 
stood that the local features were to be left in the hands of 
the citizens' committee, with assurance that such parts of the 
plan suggested as would require action by Congress should 
receive full consideration at the hands of its specially 
appointed committees on the centennial celebration. 

Before the joint meeting of February 21, 1900, three more 
meetings of the citizens' committee were held, on the following 
dates: January 10, January 18, February 14. In obedience 
to the wishes of the committees of the Senate and House of 
Representatives, a programme was formulated by the citizens' 
committee. This met with the approval of the Congressional 
committees, and at their request was later submitted by the 
chairman of the citizens' committee at the joint meeting for 
final consideration. He was also instructed to submit a full 
report of progress on the centennial movement at the joint 
meeting, for which a special order of business had been previ- 
ously arranged. 

At the meeting held February 14, the chairman was author- 
ized to designate Mr. W. P. Van Wickle assistant secretary. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETING OF THE 
JOINT COMMITTEE. 

(FEERUAEY 21, 1900.) 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETING OF THE JOINT 
COMMITTEE. 



The members of the joint committee assembled at n 
o'clock, February 21, 1900, in the parlors of the Arlington 
Hotel. The meeting was called to order by Hon. John B. 
Wight, chairman of the citizens' committee. After welcoming 
the members to the capital of the nation, he briefly presented 
a history of the movement to celebrate the one hundredth 
anniversary of the establishment of the permanent seat of 
Government in the District of Columbia since its inception, 
in October, 1898, referring especially to the deep interest 
shown by the President, and to his suggestions, all of which 
had been carried out. The members of the committee from 
the country at large, as appointed by the President, were read, 
as follows: 



Alabama Joseph F. Johnston. 

Arkansas Daniel W. Jones. 

California' Henry T. Gage. 

Colorado Charles S. Thomas. 

Connecticut George E. Lounsbury. 

Delaware Ebe W. Tunnell. 

Florida Wm. D.Bloxham. 

Georgia Allen D. Candler. 

Idaho F. Steunenberg. 

Illinois John R. Tanner. 

Indiana James A. Mount. 

Iowa Leslie M. Shaw. 

Kansas W. E. Stanley. 

Kentucky = W. O. Bradley. 

Louisiana Murphy J. Foster. 

Maine Llewellyn Powers. 

Maryland Lloyd Lowndes. 

Massachusetts .... Roger Wolcott. 

Michigan Hazen S. Pingree. 

Minnesota John Lind. 

Mississippi A. J. McLaurin. 

Missouri Lon V. Stephens. 

Montana Robert B. Smith. 

Nebraska W. A. Poynter. 

Nevada Reinhold Sadler. 



New Hampshire. .Frank W. Rollins. 

New Jersey Foster M. Voorhees. 

New York Theodore Roosevelt. 

North Carolina. . .Daniel L. Russell. 

North Dakota F. B. Fancher. 

Ohio Asa S. Bushnell. 

Oregon Theo. T.Geer. 

Pennsylvania . . . .William A. Stone. 
Rhode Island .... Elisha Dyer. 
South Carolina. . .M. B. McSweeney. 
South Dakota .... Andrew E. Lee. 

Tennessee Benton McMillin. 

Texas * Joseph D. Say ers. 

Utah Heber M. Wells. 

Vermont Edwin C. Smith. 

Virginia J. Hoge Tyler. 

Washington John R. Rogers. 

West Virginia. . . .G. W. Atkinson. 

Wisconsin Edward Scofield. 

Wyoming De Forest Richards. 

Alaska John G. Brady. 

Arizona N. O. Murphy. 

New Mexico Miguel A. Otero. 

Oklahoma Cassius M. Barnes. 



1 State constitution prohibits governor from accepting appointment. 
= Appointment declined. 



32 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The chairman then suggested the selection of a chairman 
of the joint committee, and on motion of Col. M. M. Parker, 
duly seconded, Hon. Eugene Hale, of Maine, chairman of the 
select committee from the Senate, was unanimously elected. 

In accepting the office Mr. Hale expressed his appreciation 
of the honor conferred upon him in being chosen to preside 
over a committee which, if it prospered in its work, would 
give to Washington City and the country a most interesting 
celebration of one of the greatest events in the history of the 
nation. 

The chairman suggested the selection of a permanent 
secretary, and on motion of Mr. Wight, Mr. W. V. Cox, 
secretary of the citizens' committee, was unanimously chosen. 

The chair then directed that the roll be called, whereupon 
the following-named gentlemen responded: 

Eugene Hale, Senator from Maine; George C. Perkins, 
Senator from California; Joseph Simon, Senator from Oregon; 
Alexander S. Clay, Senator from Georgia; Thomas B. Turley, 
Senator from Tennessee, and James McMillan, Senator from 
Michigan, members of the select committee from the United 
States Senate. 

Joseph G. Cannon, Representative from Illinois; J. P. Heat- 
wole, Representative from Minnesota; J. S. Sherman, Repre- 
sentative from New York; J. A. Hemenway, Representative 
from Indiana; R. J. Gamble, Representative from South 
Dakota, and John C. Bell, Representative from Colorado, 
members of the select committee from the United States 
House of Representatives. 

Charles S. Thomas, governor of Colorado; Ebe W. Tunnell, 
governor of Delaware; F. Q. Brown, proxy for William D. 
Bloxham, governor of Florida; Allen D. Candler, governor of 
Georgia; F. Steunenberg, governor of Idaho; James A. Mount, 
governor of Indiana; Llewellyn Powers, governor of Maine; 
John Lind, governor of Minnesota; Robert B. Smith, governor 
of Montana; W. A. Poynter, governor of Nebraska; Frank 
W. Rollins, governor of New Hampshire; William A. Stone, 
governor of Pennsylvania; Elisha Dyer, governor of Rhode 
Island; Andrew E. Lee, governor of South Dakota; Benton 
McMillin, governor of Tennessee; Heber M. Wells, governor 



Proceedings of Meeting of Joint Committee. 33 

of Utah; Edwin C. Smith, governor of Vermont; G. W. Atkin- 
son, governor of West Virginia; Alexander Stewart, proxy 
for Edward Seofield, governor of Wisconsin; De Forest Rich- 
ards, governor of Wyoming; John G. Brady, governor of 
Alaska; N. O. Murphy, governor of Arizona, members of the 
committee from the country at large. 

John B. Wight, Commissioner of the District of Columbia; 
M. M. Parker; Chas. J. Bell; James G. Berret; John Joy 
Edson; George H. Harries, proxy for Theodore W. Noyes; 
R. Ross Perry; John W. Thompson; Scott C. Bone, proxy for 
Beriah Wilkins, and W. V. Cox, members of the committee 
from the District of Columbia. 

At the request of the chair the secretary read the act of 
Congress (Public 84, approved February 28, 1899) entitled 
"An act to provide for an appropriate national celebration of 
the establishment of the seat of Government in the District 
of Columbia." (See p. 23.) 

The chairman said that in view of the fact that the citizens' 
committee had taken the initiative in the centennial move- 
ment and had performed all necessary preliminary work 
looking toward the celebration, he would call upon the chair- 
man of "that committee to outline such plans as it had consid- 
ered. Mr. Wight, chairman of the citizens' committee, replied 
that his committee had prepared a report, which, on motion 
of His Excellency Charles S. Thomas, Mr. Wight then read. 
The report was as follows: 

The citizens' committee of the District of Columbia has the honor to 
propose the following plan for the celebration of the Centennial of the 
Establishment of the Permanent Seat of Government in the District of 
Columbia : 

First. That the celebration be held in the month of December, 1900. 

Second. That commemorative exercises be held in the two Houses of 
Congress, separately or jointly, in honor of the anniversary of the first 
session of Congress held in the permanent capital. 

Third. That the la}dng of the corner stone of an appropriate, sub- 
stantial, and permanent memorial structure be made a feature of the 
celebration, and that Congress be urged to provide for such a memorial. 
In the judgment of this committee, a bridge across the Potomac River 
to the Arlington National Cemetery, now the property of the United 
States, would be the most fitting and appreciated ' ' Memorial to Ameri- 
can Patriotism" that could be raised, and should be embellished with 
H. Doc. 552 3 



34 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

decorations illustrative of the great events in the nation's history and 
the progress of our country. Congress has already provided for pre- 
liminary surveys and plans, and these plans have been completed so that 
they are now available for the purpose of building such a memorial 
bridge. It will therefore be possible to laj r the corner stone of the pro- 
posed bridge at the time of celebration. In connection with the cere- 
mony, orations should be delivered by distinguished citizens of national 
reputation; and further, such exercises should be preceded and followed 
by a parade of military and naval forces and of civic organizations of as 
great proportions and varied representations as practicable from the 
United States and the several States and Territories. 

Fourth. That the celebration should culminate in an evening recep- 
tion and ball. 

In connection with the first recommendation, that the celebration be 
held in the month of December, 1900, it is, perhaps, proper to say that 
much attention was given to the matter of date. It appears that during 
the year 1800 the archives were being moved to Washington, and there 
were several dates having some interest, covering a period from Ma}' to 
December. In 1790 Congress decided, in connection with the establish- 
ment of the permanent seat of government, that it should assume charge 
and direction of this Territory at its meeting in December, 1800. The 
first meeting of Congress in the District of Columbia, however, was held 
in November, 1800, and no special significance seems to have been 
attached to that meeting. The committee is of the opinion that, inas- 
much as there are so many dates from which to choose, that date should 
be chosen which would meet most fully all the objects to be attained. 
It is, of course, essential that it should be at a time when Congress is in 
session, and it should be sufficiently remote from the present to admit of 
such preparations as may be necessary in connection with the laying of 
the corner stone of the memorial structure, which must be appropriated 
for and for which some preliminary work must be done. 

In connection with the third recommendation, that a memorial struc- 
ture be erected, the citizens' committee call attention to the following 
propositions, which have also received its consideration: 

The erection of a municipal building for Washington Cit}'; a memo- 
rial arch at the head of Sixteenth street; a series of statues of American 
worthies; a new Executive Mansion; the, reclamation of the flats of 
Anacostia River, the eastern branch of the Potomac; the enlarging of 
the Capitol grounds by the condemnation of adjacent squares; the elim- 
ination of Florida avenue as the northern boundary of the city of Wash- 
ington; the policy of erecting all future Government buildings on the 
south side of Pennsylvania avenue, and the purchase of the ground for 
that purpose; a new building for the Supreme Court of the United 
States, to be erected on a site corresponding to that of the Congres- 
sional Library building; the retrocession of the whole or a part of the 



Proceedings of Meeting of Joint Committee. 35 

territory of the State of Virginia originally embraced in the ten-mile 
square forming the District of Columbia. 

Some of these suggestions, however, are open to the criticism that 
they are partly local and are such as should be paid for in part by the 
District of Columbia, such as the municipal building. The whole plan 
of this celebration, as must be evident by all the steps taken since its 
inception, looks to a national event, and whatever structure is chosen to 
mark this interesting epoch should be provided by the nation. 

The citizens' committee have agreed — and will take pleasure in doing 
the same — to raise such an amount of funds as will be required to meet 
the expenses of the celebration proper, so that everything which is 
purely local shall be paid for by the citizens of the District entirely at 
their expense. The only expense asked of the General Government is 
to provide for that which is purely national in its character. 

In conclusion the citizens' committee respectfully calls the attention 
of the members of the full committee to the many interesting articles on 
the early history of Washington City and the proposed celebration 
which have appeared in local newspapers, as well as those throughout 
the country, a number of which contain pertinent suggestions which 
may be of interest to the committee, such articles having been preserved 
by the citizens' committee to form a part of its archives. 

On the conclusion of the reading of the report, the chair- 
man asked what action the committee wished to take upon it. 

Hon. James S. Sherman, M. C, moved that the proposition of 
the citizens' committee, that the celebration take place in the 
month of December, 1900, be approved, and the motion was 
seconded by His Excellency Benton McMillin, and carried. 

Col. M. M. Parker moved that a committee of five be 
appointed by the chair, to which should be referred the 
recommendations of the citizens' committee for consideration 
and report. This motion was seconded and carried, and the 
chairman appointed as members of the committee: Hon. James 
McMillan, United States Senator; Hon. Joel P. Heatwole, 
member of Congress; His Excellency Elisha Dyer, Mr. C. J. 
Bell, and Col. M. M. Parker. 

The chairman then called for additional suggestions for 
features of the celebration. None being offered, the com- 
mittee of five was requested to consider the report of the 
citizens' committee at once, so as to be able to report plans of 
celebration at the afternoon session. 

On motion, a recess was taken until 3 o'clock in the after- 
noon. 



36 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 

The chairman, Mr. Hale, called the meeting to order at 
3.15 o'clock, and asked Senator McMillan to submit the report 
of the committee of five. 

Senator McMillan stated that the committee of five had 
met as arranged, and had given the recommendations of the 
citizens' committee careful consideration, and had adopted 
unanimously the following report: 

First. That the celebration be held in the month of Decem- 
ber, 1900. 

Second. That commemorative exercises be held in the two 
Houses of Congress, separately or jointly, in honor of the 
anniversary of the first session of Congress held in the per- 
manent capital. 

Third. That the enlargement of the Executive Mansion 
in harmony with its present style of architecture, and the 
construction of an avenue to be known as "Centennial ave- 
nue," running from the Capitol grounds, through the Mall, 
to the Potomac River, be made features of the celebration. 

Fourth. That in connection with the ceremonies of enlarg- 
ing the Executive Mansion and opening Centennial avenue, 
orations be delivered by citizens of national reputation, and 
that such exercises be preceded and followed by parades of 
military and naval forces and of civic organizations, of as 
great proportions and varied representations as practicable, 
from the United States and the several States and Territories. 

Fifth. That the celebration culminate in an evening recep- 
tion, and such other entertainment as the committee may 
determine upon. 

Senator McMillan said: 

Everyone recognizes that the Executive Mansion is not adequate for 
the purposes for which it is used. It was built a great many years ago; 
it is not in good order — in fact, the foundations of the building have 
had to be supported from time to time, and it is not fit either as an office 
or a residence for the President of the United States. The committee, 
recognizing this, after a thorough discussion, came to the conclusion 
that it would be wise to recommend that an enlargement of the Execu- 
tive Mansion should be made, not to interfere with the architectural 



, • +* 




Proceedings of Meeting of Joint Committee. 37 

beauty of the present structure. It is suggested, at the same time, 
that an avenue might be opened through the Mall from the grounds of 
the Capitol to the Potomac River, where the proposed memorial bridge 
might be built at some future time, making that avenue a boulevard, 
with trees on either side, and possibly a riding path. This avenue 
would be known as ' ' Centennial avenue, ' ' and would be probably three 
miles in length. Strange to say, upon looking at the maps which the 
committee had before it, it was seen that the original plan of Washing- 
ton, as prepared by Major L'Enfant, provided for just such an avenue, 
public buildings to be erected on either side of the same. 

I might add that the committee was unanimous in the adoption of its 
report, and that it consulted several gentlemen, not members of the 
committee, who take a great interest in matters relating to Washington, 
and they, too, were unanimous in approving these suggestions for sub- 
mission to this meeting. 

The chairman asked for any suggestions 'that members 
might desire to make before taking action on the report. 

Mr. Wight, as chairman of the citizens' committee, stated 
that while the report of the committee of five provided for a 
proposition not recommended by his committee in its recom- 
mendations, still he and his associates were pleased with the 
same and heartily indorsed them as the best that could be 
agreed on. The suggestion of the enlargement of the Execu- 
tive Mansion is, he said, very necessary in the opinion of all 
Washingtonians, housing as it does under one roof all the 
offices of the Executive, as well as the living rooms of the 
President and his family, with but a single doorway for 
entrance and exit of officials as well as the Executive's family 
and private guests. 

His Excellency John Eind said that he did not feel like 
voting for the adoption of a report which was in the nature 
of suggestions as to what Congress should do in matters over 
which it alone had jurisdiction, referring principally to the 
proposition that the enlargement of the Executive Mansion 
be made a feature of the celebration. Mr. Eind suggested 
that the report be modified so as to make it read that the 
joint committee approved of the suggestions of the citizens' 
committee, if the same met with the approval of Congress. 
Mr. Eind, in conclusion, said, in brief, that he did not think 
that the committee should take the initiative in a matter 
belonging peculiarly to Congress. 



38 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Senator McMillan explained that the entire matter was pre- 
liminary only, and that, according to the law, whatever action 
the committee took, would have to first receive the approval 
of Congress before the same could be carried into effect. 

His Excellency G. W. Atkinson thought that it would be 
more practicable for the committee to recommend the erection 
of an entirely new Executive Mansion, since the present one 
is, he considered, entirely inadequate for the use of the Exec- 
utive of the nation as his office and residence. He said that, 
so far as sentiment was concerned in the objection to destroy- 
ing the present Mansion, he thought a new one could be con- 
structed on the same lines of architecture as the present one, 
which, he appreciated, was of an unusually appropriate and 
admired design. He said the condition of the present Exec- 
utive Mansion almost required that it be overhauled and 
remodeled from the ground up, which would practically mean 
a new structure. 

Senator McMillan said that his committee would not obj ect 
to such an amendment of its report, and Mr. Atkinson there- 
upon moved that the report be amended by inserting after the 
word "architecture," in the third proposition, the words, "or 
the erection of a new Executive Mansion." 

After considerable discussion on the objections to the report 
made by Mr. Lind, Mr. Atkinson's amendment was adopted. 
During the discussion referred to, His Excellency Benton 
McMillin stated that he thought the original proposition for 
the enlargement of the Executive Mansion was more satis- 
factory than the amendment. Mr. Atkinson did not think 
Mr. Land's reasons for objecting to the report were well taken, 
nor did His Excellency Charles S. Thomas. The latter 
argued that, since a proposition to improve the Executive 
Mansion and also to erect a new Executive Mansion had been 
before Congress for a number of years past, the recommenda- 
tions of the centennial committee would in his opinion be 
perfectly proper and appropriate and would very likely be 
welcomed by Congress. He pointed out that there was no 
question of the great need of a new Executive Mansion, and 
he thought that the centennial committee, which represented 
every State and Territory of the Union and the United States, 



Proceedings of Meeting of Joint Committee. 39 

could very appropriately take such action as it now proposed 
to do. The improvement of Washington city and the capital 
of the nation should, Mr. Thomas considered, receive the 
attention and recommendation and material interest of every 
citizen of the United States, and especially of those that rep- 
resented it on the centennial committee. The committee, in 
fact, should feel it to be its duty to urge such a worthy prop- 
osition. 

His Excellency James A. Mount moved that the report of 
the committee of five, as amended, be adopted, which motion 
was unanimously carried. The chair then asked what action 
the committee desired to take in the matter of preparing its 
plans of celebration and presenting the same to the President 
and the two Houses of Congress. Mr. Thomas moved that 
the citizens' committee, which had taken the initiative in the 
movement to celebrate and was so appropriately suited to take 
full charge of the celebration, be authorized to make a report 
to the President. 

Mr. Atkinson suggested that Mr. Thomas amend his 
motion by providing that the chairman of the joint com- 
mittee act as ex officio chairman with the citizens' committee. 

Mr. Wight thought the committee of five a most repre- 
sentative one and exceptionally suited to take charge of all 
matters of detail that might arise in the future, and on this 
line he suggested that this committee of five be increased by 
the appointment of about five additional members and created 
an executive committee with general directing powers. This 
was indorsed by His Excellency William A. Poynter. 

Mr. Sherman moved that the committee of five, and five 
additional members to be appointed by the chairman, be made 
an executive committee, the chairman of the joint committee, 
Mr. Hale, to act as chairman ex officio thereof, which execu- 
tive committee should possess all powers of the joint committee 
at times when it was impracticable to call a meeting of the 
latter. 

Chairman Hale said that, while he desired to do everything 
in his power to aid the movement and be of as much service 
as possible to the committee, he felt that it was impossible 
for him to act as chairman of the executive committee, owing 



40 Establislnnent of the Seat of Government. 

to his Congressional duties. Mr. Sherman thereupon modi- 
fied his motion so as not to provide for the chairman of the 
joint committee to act as chairman ex officio of the executive 
committee. The motion was then put to the committee, and 
was unanimously carried. The chair announced the follow- 
ing-named gentlemen as members of the executive committee 
thus provided for: George C. Perkins, of the Senate commit- 
tee, chairman; Joel P. Heatwole, of the House of Represent- 
atives committee; J. Hoge Tyler 1 and Elisha Dyer, of the 
committee from the country at large; John B. Wight, C. J. 
Bell, John Joy Bdson, Theodore W. Noyes, M. M. Parker, 
and W. V. Cox, of the citizens' committee. 

Mr. Wight stated that he had ascertained that the Presi- 
dent of the United States would be pleased to receive the 
committee at the Executive Mansion at 3.30 o'clock, and he 
moved that the committee adjourn and proceed in a body to 
call upon the President. At the suggestion of Mr. Atkinson, 
Mr. Wight amended his motion so as to make the adjourn- 
ment subject to the call of the chair. This motion was adopted, 
and the committee adjourned. 

'See footnote, page 46. 



COMPLETION OF ARRANGEMENTS. 



COMPLETION OF ARRANGEMENTS. 



The executive committee met in the President's room of 
the Senate six days after the joint meeting, and on motion 
of Mr. Edson elected Commissioner Wight, chairman of the 
citizens' committee, its vice-chairman. At the suggestion of 
Senator Perkins, Mr. Cox, secretary of the citizens' commit- 
tee and joint committee, was elected secretary of the execu- 
tive committee. 

On motion of Mr. Heatwole, it was unanimously adopted 
as the sense of the executive committee that the citizens' com- 
mittee be requested to take full charge of all matters of detail 
connected with the celebration, including the reception at the 
Corcoran Gallery of Art ; and, in brief, to make such arrange- 
ments for the local features of the celebration as were deemed 
necessary to insure its success, and to report action at a meet- 
ing of the joint committee to be held in December. It was 
thought proper that the exercises to be participated in jointly 
by the Senate and House of Representatives, in honor of the 
one hundredth anniversary of the first session of Congress 
held at the permanent capital, should be under the direction 
of the Congressional Committees on the Centennial. 

On February 28, the day following the date of this meet- 
ing, the executive committee called upon the President for 
the purpose of submitting for transmission to Congress the 
proceedings of the joint meeting of the 21st. The chairman, 
Senator Perkins, presented to the President the following 
letter, accompanied by an outline of the plan of celebration 
as adopted, a copy of the act of Congress, and a facsimile of 
the original plan of the city of Washington. 

NATIONAL CAPITAL CENTENNIAL, 1900. 

Washington City, February 28, igoo. 
To the President: 

In conformity with an act of Congress entitled "An act to provide 
for an appropriate national celebration of the establishment of the seat of 

43 



44 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Government in the District of Columbia," approved February 28, 1899, 
the committee appointed for that purpose has the honor to submit to 
you herewith its proceedings. 

The committee met at the Arlington Hotel, Washington City, on the 
21st of February, 1900, and unanimously adopted plans for the proposed 
celebration, which are appended. 

The features of the celebration, as proposed, are, in brief, that in 
December, 1900, appropriate exercises shall be held in the Halls of Con- 
gress; that a corner stone shall be laid for an enlargement of the present 
Executive Mansion or a new structure; that an avenue extending from 
the Capitol grounds to the Potomac River and running through the 
Mall, to be known as Centennial avenue, shall be provided for; that in 
the evening there shall be a reception and such other entertainment 
as the committee may determine upon; that in connection with the 
laying of the corner stone there shall be a military, naval, and civic 
parade of great proportions, and orations shall be delivered by distin- 
guished citizens. 

The committee ventures to hope that its action will meet with 3'our 
approval and that in transmitting this report to Congress you will give 
it your indorsement, so that the objects of the celebration ma}' be suc- 
cessfully attained. 

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Geo. C. Perkins 
Chairman, Executive Committee. 
W. V. Cox, 

Secretary. 

The report of the proceedings of the meeting, together with 
Senator Perkins's letter and the above plan and other inci- 
sures, was transmitted to Congress by the President on 
March 7 with the following message: 

To the Senate and House of Representatives: 

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, the report of the 
proceedings of the committee appointed in conformity with an act of 
Congress entitled "An act to provide for an appropriate national celebra- 
tion of the establishment of the seat of Government in the District of 
Columbia," approved February 28, 1899. 

William McKinley. 

Executive Mansion, March 7, 1900. 

On the same date the message and report were read in the 
Senate, referred to the Committee on the Centennial Celebra- 
tion, and ordered to be printed. (Senate Doc. 210, Fifty-sixth 
Congress, first session.) In the House it was referred to the 
Committee on Appropriations. 



Completion of Arrangements. 45 

On May 14, 1900, Commissioner Wight tendered his resig- 
nation as chairman of the citizens' committee in the following 
letter: 

Sir: Inasmuch as I am no longer Commissioner of the District of 
Columbia, and having been elected to the position of chairman of the 
citizens' committee b}' virtue of that office, I hereby tender my resigna- 
tion as chairman of that committee. I beg to say, in this connection, 
that my interest in the celebration of the Centennial is just as great as 
ever, and I shall be glad in an}' way, no matter how humble, to aid 
as much as possible in bringing to a successful issue whatever plans may 
be decided upon. 

I am, very respectfully, John B. Wight. 

W. V. Cox, Esq., 

Secretary, Citizens' Centennial Committee. 

Hon. Henry B. F. Macfarland succeeded Commissioner 
Wight as president of the Board of District Commissioners 
on May 9, 1900. 

In this connection the minutes of a meeting of the citizens' 
committee held May 21 record that — 

* * * The secretary presented a letter received from Chairman 
Wight, tendering his resignation of that office, which he had held by 
virtue of his position as president of the Board of Commissioners of the 
District of Columbia. On motion of Colonel Parker, Mr. Wight's resig- 
nation was accepted with many regrets, since his work in behalf of the 
celebration had been most zealous and energetic. 

On motion, Mr. Wight was unanimously elected a member of the com- 
mittee. He thereupon moved that his successor on the Board of Dis- 
trict Commissioners, Hon. Henry B. F. Macfarland, be unanimously 
elected a member of the committee, and chairman thereof by virtue of 
his office. This motion was adopted, and the secretary was instructed 
to so advise Commissioner Macfarland. 

In the following letter, dated May 23, 1900, Commissioner 
Macfarland conveyed his acceptance: 

Executive Office 
Commissioners of the District of Columbia, 

Washington, May 23, ipoo. 
Sir: I beg to acknowledge receipt of your notice of May 21, to the 
effect that at a meeting of the citizens' committee, centennial celebra- 
tion of the establishment of the seat of government in the District of 
Columbia, held that date, I was unanimously elected a member of the 



46 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

committee and chairman thereof. I appreciate the honor conferred 
upon me, and shall be pleased to serve, to the best of my ability, in 
furtherance of the proposed celebration. 
Very respectfully, 

Henry B. F. Macfarland. 
W. V. Cox, Esq., 

Secretary , Citizens' Centennial Committee. 

Commissioner Macfarland also succeeded Commissioner 
Wight as a member and vice-chairman of the executive com- 
mittee, Mr. Wight being reappointed by Senator Hale as a 
member of that committee to fill a vacancy. 1 

Commissioner Wight was subsequently (October 24) chosen 
by the citizens' committee as its vice-chairman. 

Congress took important steps, in connection with the 
recommendations of the joint committee, providing for the 
construction of a model showing the proposed enlargement of 
the Executive Mansion, and for the treatment of the territory 
south of and adjacent to Pennsylvania avenue and the con- 
necting of Potomac Park along the valley of Rock Creek with 
the Zoological Park. Col. Theodore A. Bingham, U. S. A., 
in charge of public buildings and grounds, was requested to 
prepare such a model, and he agreed to have it ready, with the 
necessary drawings, by December. Thereupon the citizens' 
committee conferred, through its chairman and secretary, 
with the President as to holding a part of the exercises of the 
centennial celebration in the Executive Mansion, at which 
time the model and drawings might be exhibited for the first 
time, and also suggested a reception by the President to the 
Governors of the States and Territories. The President 
informally signified his approval of such exercises and his 
readiness to accord a reception to the State executives. He 

1 Governor J. Hoge Tyler, of Virginia, whom Senator Hale appointed a member 
of the executive committee, was unable to accept the President's commission, owing 
to an inhibition of the State's constitution, which does not allow the governor or 
other State officer to hold an office of profit or trust under the Federal Government. 
Similar inhibitions of the constitutions of California and Texas also prevented 
Governors Gage and Savers from accepting the appointments of the President. In 
view of the important part Virginia took in the establishment of the District of 
Columbia, ceding, with Maryland, the territory originally forming the District, at 
the instance of the citizens' committee the President requested Governor Tyler to 
act on the centennial committee informally as the representative of the Old Domin- 
ion State, and to this he consented. 



Completion of Arrangements. 47 

was also consulted as to the date of the celebration, the month 
of December having alread}' been decided upon. 

For the purpose of considering and adopting the necessary 
modification of the plan of celebration, a meeting of the 
executive committee was held on August 30, when, in the 
absence of Senator Perkins, Commissioner Macfarland on 
taking the chair said: 

We have met to perfect plans for celebrating in December next the 
centennial anniversary of the establishment of the seat of government in 
the District of Columbia. These plans, in provisional form, have 
already been submitted \>y the executive committee to the President of 
the United States, who has signified his approval of them. They have 
also been approved by the representatives of Congress upon the execu- 
tive committee. They are designed to carry out the general purpose of 
the celebration as adopted by the national committee, on the recommen- 
dation of the citizens' committee, with the approval of the President and 
Congress. The fact that such an important anniversary ought not to be 
allowed to pass without celebration has been recognized by everyone. 
While there has been some disappointment because Congress in its 
wisdom did not provide for the laying of the corner stone of the Memo- 
rial Bridge at the time of the celebration, it must be remembered that 
Congress has taken steps of an important character toward the execution 
of the two projects recommended by the national committee as those 
which ought to be connected with the celebration, namely, the enlarge- 
ment of the Executive Mansion and the improvement of the Mall and its 
park connections. Congress has authorized the completion of the plans 
of Col. Theodore A. Bingham, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., superintend- 
ent of public buildings and grounds, for the enlargement of the Execu- 
tive Mansion, and has authorized Brig. Gen. John M. Wilson, Chief of 
Engineers, U. S. A., to prepare a plan for the treatment of the Mall and 
its park connections. 

President McKinley, who has shown such a sympathetic interest in 
the proposed celebration, has consented to give a morning reception on 
the day in December to be selected, when he will receive the Governors 
of the States and Territories and other members of the national commit- 
tee, together with Senators and Representatives, when it is hoped that 
a model of the enlarged Executive Mansion, as proposed in Colonel 
Bingham's plans, will be exhibited in the East Room, and brief appro- 
priate addresses will be made. The representatives of Congress have 
planned for suitable exercises on the afternoon of that day in the Hall 
of the House of Representatives, when prominent Senators and Repre- 
sentatives will deliver orations. The citizens' committee is to arrange 
for a noonday military, naval, and civic parade, and for an evening 
reception in honor of the distinguished visitors. 



48 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

These outlines of the proposed celebration indicate that it will be 
worthy of the occasion in dignity and interest. Posterity, which would 
doubtless be astonished if there should be no celebration of this signifi- 
cant event, will certainly look back to it with the same satisfaction that 
will be felt by all those who take an interest in it now. 

At this meeting the executive committee definitely decided 
upon the details of the programme, which were to take place 
in the following order: 

Date of celebration: Wednesday, December 12. 
Exercises at Executive Mansion in the morning: 

Reception by the President to the governors of the States 

and Territories, immediately followed by — 
Addresses: By Col. Theodore A. Bingham, U. S. A., on 
the history of the Executive Mansion dur- 
ing the century 1 800-1 900, to be delivered 
in connection with the displa}^ of the model 
and drawings of the proposed enlargement 
of the Executive Mansion; 
By Hon. Henry B. E. Macfarland, president 
of the Board of Commissioners of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, on the development of 
the District during the century 1800- 1900; 
By a member of the committee from the 
country at large on the development of the 
nation during the century 1 800-1 900. 
Military, naval, and civic parade from the Executive Mansion 
to the Capitol, to be reviewed by the President from the 
east front of the Capitol. 
Exercises at the Capitol in the afternoon, to be held jointly by 
the Senate and House of Representatives in the Hall of 
the House, commemorating the first session of the Congress 
held at the permanent capital, to embrace addresses by two 
Senators and two Representatives, on the following subjects: 
"Transfer of the national capital from Philadelphia to 

Washington. 
"Establishment of the seat of government in the District 

of Columbia. 
"History of the first century of the National Capital. 
" Future of the United States and its Capital." 
Reception, in the evening, in honor of the Governors of the 
States and Territories. 



Completion of Arrangements. 49 

This plan of celebration was submitted, after adoption by 
the executive committee, to each member of the joint com- 
mittee, and received general approval. As will appear farther 
on, the only change made was a slight increase in the number 
of addresses at the Capitol. The speakers were selected by 
the executive committee with a special view to representing 
the States of Maryland and Virginia, which ceded the Dis- 
trict of Columbia to the United States; Massachusetts, repre- 
senting New England, and Tennessee, the last State admitted 
into the Union before the capital was removed to Washington. 
The great West, an unexplored territory a hundred years 
ago, was also included in the plan. The speakers in Con- 
gress represented the two great political parties and the two 
Houses of Congress. 

For the purpose of arranging the details of the ceremonies 
the executive committee at this meeting authorized the chair- 
man of the citizens' committee to organize the following 
auxiliary committees: Finance, reception, exercises at the 
Executive Mansion, exercises at the Capitol (to cooperate on 
behalf of the citizens' committee with the committee of the 
Senate and House of Representatives), parade and decora- 
tion, press, medal and badges, printing, public comfort and 
order, and auditing. In order to secure a compact organiza- 
tion, and to enable the citizens' committee to keep in immedi- 
ate touch with every detail of the arrangements, it was 
suggested that each member of this committee should act as 
the chairman of one of the auxiliary committees. 

Not until as many as 2,000 prominent men of the District 
had been appointed on these committees was it felt that the 
general patriotic and public-spirited desire of the citizens to 
serve had been fully and properly recognized. 

To this wide interest in the event the success of the cele- 
bration was largely due. On these committees were repre- 
sented, it was believed, all important patriotic, historical, 
industrial, benevolent, and other similar organizations, among 
which may be mentioned the Columbia Historical Society, 
Oldest Inhabitants' Association, the Loyal Legion, the Grand 
Army of the Republic, the Confederate Veterans, Sons of the 
American Revolution, Sons of the Revolution, Society of 
H. Doc. 552 4 



50 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Mayflower Descendants, Society of Colonial Wars, Society 
of the Cincinnati, Military Order of Foreign Wars, Society of 
the War of 1812, Aztec Club of 1847, Order of the Descend- 
ants of Colonial Governors, and the various local citizens' 
associations. 

The following assignment of members of the citizens' com- 
mittee as chairmen of the auxiliary committees was made by 
Commissioner Macfarland: 

Mr. Parker, as chairman of committee on finance. 
Mr. Bell, as chairman of committee on reception. 
Mr. Edson, as chairman of committee on exercises at the Execu- 
tive Mansion. 

Mr. Perry, as chairman of committee on -exercises at the Capitol. 

Mr. Wight, as chairman of committee on parade and decoration. 

Mr. Noyes, as chairman of committee on press. 

Mr. Van Wickle, as chairman of committee on medal and badges. 

Mr. Wilkins, as chairman of committee on printing. 

Mr. Berret, as chairman of committee on public comfort and order. 

Mr. Thompson, as chairman of committee on auditing. 

Upon the completion of the working organization, the com- 
mittee was, through the courtesy of Mr. Van Wickle, assistant 
secretary, given the use of rooms in the Bradbury Building, 
No. 1225 Pennsylvania avenue, where headquarters were 
established. 

Through the committee on reception the executive commit- 
tee requested the trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art to 
permit the holding of a reception to the Governors in the build- 
ing under their control, and to this request they graciously 
acceded. Later, Mr. Bell, chairman of the reception commit- 
tee, accompanied by Rear-Admiral Edwin Stewart, and Mr. 
A. A. Wilson, members of that committee, called upon the 
President, and on behalf of the citizens' committee invited 
him and Mrs. McKinley to be present at the reception. To 
this invitation the President signified his assent. 

In his annual message to Congress of December 3, the 
President again referred to the celebration in these words : 

The transfer of the Government to this city is a fact of great histor- 
ical interest. Among the people there is a feeling of genuine pride in 
the Capital of the Republic. 

It is a matter of interest in this connection that in 1S00 the population 



Completion of Arrangements. c i 

of the District of Columbia was 14,093; to-day it is 278,718. The popu- 
lation of the city of Washington was then 3,210; to-day it is 218,196. 

The Congress having provided for ' ' an appropriate national celebra- 
tion of the Centennial Anniversary of the Establishment of the Seat of 
Government in the District of Columbia, ' ' the committees authorized by 
it have prepared a programme for the 12th of December, 1900, which 
date has been selected as the anniversary day. Deep interest has been 
shown in the arrangements for the celebration by the members of the 
committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, the committee 
of Governors appointed by the President, and the committees appointed 
by the citizens and inhabitants of the District of Columbia generally. 
The programme, in addition to a reception and other exercises at the 
Executive Mansion, provides commemorative exercises to be held jointly 
by the Senate and House of Representatives in the Hall of the House of 
Representatives, and a reception in the evening at the Corcoran Gallery 
of Art in honor of the Governors of the States and Territories. 

A resolution sanctioning the holding of the joint exercises 
in the Hall of the House of Representatives, and legalizing 
the day of celebration as a public holiday in the District of 
Columbia, together with other desirable provisions, was sub- 
mitted by the committee, formulated and passed December 5, 
1900, and received the approval of the President on Decem- 
ber 8. 

The text of the resolution was as follows : 

[PUBUC-No. I.] 

AN ACT In relation to the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the establish- 
ment of the permanent seat of government in the District of Columbia. 

Whereas the Senate and House of Representatives have each appointed 
a committee to act with other committees appointed respectively by the 
President of the United States and by the citizens of the District of Colum- 
bia (in a mass meeting assembled), which committees have in charge 
the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the establishment of the 
permanent seat of government in the District of Columbia; and 

Whereas said committees have in joint session adopted a plan of cele- 
bration which has been submitted to the President of the United States 
and by him transmitted to Congress, such plan proposing as a feature of 
the celebration the holding by the Senate and House of Representatives, 
jointly, commemorative exercises in the Hall of the House of Repre- 
sentatives on the afternoon of the twelfth day of December, nineteen 
hundred, in honor of the centennial anniversary of the first session of 
Congress held in the permanent capital: Therefore 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Co?igress assembled, That the two Houses of Con- 



52 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

gress shall assemble in the Hall of the House of Representatives on the 
twelfth day of December, nineteen hundred, at the hour of half past 
three o'clock post meridian, and that addresses on subjects bearing on 
the celebration shall be made by Senators and Representatives to be 
chosen by the joint committee mentioned in the preamble; that the 
President and ex- Presidents of the United States, the heads of the sev- 
eral Executive Departments, the Justices of the Supreme Court, repre- 
sentatives of foreign Governments accredited to this Government, the 
Governors of the several States and Territories, the Commissioners of the 
District of Columbia, the Lieutenant- General of the Army and the 
Admiral of the Navy, officers of the Army and Navy who have received 
the thanks of Congress, and all persons who have the privilege of the 
floor either of the Senate or the House be, and are hereby, invited to be 
present on the occasion, and that the members of the committee from 
the country at large, the members of the said citizens' committee, and 
the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the committees of the national capital 
centennial are hereby granted the privilege of the floor of the House 
during the exercises; that the said citizens' committee shall issue cards 
of admission to such portions of the public galleries of the Hall of the 
House as may be set apart by the Doorkeeper of the House for that pur- 
pose; that the Speaker of the House shall call the assembly to order 
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall act as presiding officer 
during the exercises; that the twelfth day of December, nineteen hun- 
dred, be a legal holiday within the District of Columbia; that the 
Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy are authorized to deliver 
to the Architect of the Capitol, for the purpose of decorating the Capitol, 
its approaches, and the reviewing stands in the Capitol grounds for the 
occasion, such United States ensigns and flags, except battle flags, and 
such signal numbers and other flags as may be spared, the same to be 
delivered to the Architect immediately, and returned by him not later 
than the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred: that admis- 
sion of the general public to the southern portion of the Capitol, includ- 
ing the Rotunda, on the said twelfth day of December, nineteen hundred, 
shall be by card only, under the direction of the Doorkeeper of the 
House; that the Commissioners of the District of Columbia are author- 
ized and directed, for the occasion, to make all reasonable regulations 
necessary to secure the preservation of public order and protection of life 
and property, and to grant authority or permits for the use of such 
thoroughfares and sidewalks in the city of Washington as may be neces- 
sary for parades, and that the citizens' committee are authorized to erect 
for the occasion a reviewing stand at the east side of or on the east steps 
of the Capitol. 

Approved, December 7, 1900. 

In accordance with action taken by the executive commit- 
tee on February 27, which charged the citizens' committee 



Completion of Arrangements. 53 

with the perfecting of arrangements for the celebration and 
directed it to report at a meeting of the joint committee to be 
held in December, such meeting was called for December 11 
and held on that date in the parlor of the Arlington Hotel at 
1 1 o'clock. The proceedings of this meeting are best shown 
by the minutes, in part here quoted: 

Commissioner Macfarland, chairman of the citizens' committee, said: 
' ' The committee has performed the functions assigned to it by the 
joint committee, in making arrangements for the celebration. In spite 
of the absorbing interest of the Presidential campaign, which has delayed 
the work so that all of the subcommittees were not actively at work until 
after election day, the citizens of the District of Columbia, through their 
committees, have done their full share toward the success of the celebra- 
tion. Appreciating the importance of the occasion and sympathizing 
with the purpose of the joint committee to commemorate it in a simple, 
dignified, and impressive manner, they have worked zealously and effect- 
ively, and have successfully accomplished the task assigned them. Most 
of their work has been done within a month. The contributions of 
money were made with unusual promptness and cheerfulness. The 
general interest prompted a desire to serve on the committees, which was 
met by the appointment of a large number of prominent citizens. These 
committees have raised the necessary funds, arranged the details of the 
exercises at the Executive Mansion and at the Capitol, securing the 
necessary additional legislation, and also a provision in the act of Con- 
gress for the observance of Centennial Day as a legal holida3' in the 
District this year. They have also prepared for a procession to escort 
the President and other distinguished men from the Executive Mansion 
to the Capitol, and for a reception in the evening at the Corcoran Gallery 
of Art, which promises to be the most notable of the receptions at the 
gallery. They have also arranged for the preparation of a beautiful 
memorial medal and programme, and for decorations and illuminations, 
for reduced railroad rates, and other necessary details. They are show- 
ing the hospitality of the city to the Governors and other special guests 
of the occasion as they arrive. It would be invidious to mention any of 
the committeemen by name where all have done so well, but I must be 
allowed to speak for the committee in praise of the efficient and untiring 
labor of Secretary Cox and Assistant Secretary Van Wickle. I desire to 
make formal acknowledgment of the cordial and constant interest of the 
President of the United States, always a staunch friend of the District, 
and of his unvarying kindness and courtesy to the committee. In his 
desire to promote the success of the celebration, the President has much 
more than met the wishes of the committee, and the committee is appre- 
ciative and grateful." 

Commissioner Macfarland then presented and read at length the 



54 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

programme of the celebration, and the same was filed with the minutes. 
He moved that the action taken by the citizens' committee in arranging 
the ceremonies be approved and ratified. This motion was seconded by 
Senator McMillan and was unanimously carried. 

In connection with the programme as presented, Commissioner Mac- 
farland said: 

"The committee, in the selection of speakers, sought first to recog- 
nize the States that ceded the territory originally forming the District of 
Columbia, and then the leaders of the two parties in Congress. Senator 
Hoar, as first chairman of the centennial committee, and as senior Sena- 
tor, was first in mind as one of the speakers, but the Senator believed at 
that time that he would not be able to take the part in the ceremonies 
which had been chosen for him by the committee. Finally, however, 
he consented to speak, and his name will appear in the specially printed 
programme. Senator Hoar desired to speak last. He will pronounce 
the benediction." 

The chairman, Senator Hale, called upon Senator Perkins, chairman 
of the executive committee, who reported that with patriotic zeal and 
public spirit the citizens' committee had performed the work of prepara- 
tion for the celebration in a manner deserving great credit and the 
commendation of Congress. He said the executive committee, which 
had delegated this work to the citizens' committee, had felt confident 
that the arrangements as made would result most satisfactorily and suc- 
cessfully. 

The chair expressed his full satisfaction with the manner in which 
the citizens' committee had performed the duties intrusted to it, dis- 
playing great good sense and good taste. 

On motion of Senator Perkins the committee adjourned subject to the 
call of the chair. 

With a view to gratifying a general desire to place on 
permanent record the illuminated programme which was pre- 
pared under the direction of the citizens' committee, it was 
decided to recommend that the same be included in this Report. 



DAY OF THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 



DAY OF THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 



PROGRAMME. 



The programme, which is printed in extenso, commenced 
with a reception at the Executive Mansion to the Governors 
of the States and Territories by the President of the United 
States, followed by a display of the model and drawings of 
the proposed enlargement. The remarks of the speakers 
chosen for that occasion are given in full in the following 
chapter. 

At 1.30 p. m. the military, naval, and civic escort proceeded 
from the Executive Mansion to the Capitol. The National 
Government was represented by the President and his Cabi- 
net, with troops of the Regular Army; the States, by their 
Governors and military escorts, and the District of Columbia, 
in the persons of its Commissioners, national guard, citizens, 
committees of the celebration, and representative organiza- 
tions. Lieut. Gen. Nelson A. Miles was the chief marshal of 
the parade. 

At 2.30 o'clock the President reviewed the escort at the 
east front of the Capitol, and an hour later were held the 
appointed exercises in the Hall of the House of Representa- 
tives. The addresses suggested more particularly the intimate 
relationship existing between the District and the National 
Government, and included an account of the removal of the 
seat of Government from Philadelphia to Washington. These 
also are given in full in the proper place. 

In the evening from 8 to 1 1 o'clock a reception was held at 
the Corcoran Gallery of Art, through the courtesy of the 
trustees, in honor of the visiting Governors of the States and 
Territories. 



58 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The official programme is here printed in full. Much 
credit is due Messrs. Beriah Wilkins and Barry Bulkley, of 
the printing committee, in the selection of the designs, as 
well as to Mr. Fred D. Owen, of Washington City, for his 
assistance, especially in connection with the preparation of 
the design for the front page. 




mdccc. — Washington - mdcccc. 



,&c<m§ti 




r 

programme of tbe 

Centennial Celebration of tbe Establishment 

of tbe Scat of Government in tbe District of Columbia, 

TKlasbinoton Citv, 

IWeonesbav, December 12, 1900. 



1b tbe Jftenooiw 



10 o'clock. IReception by tbe ©rcsiDent of tbe TUniteD States to tbe 

Governors of tbe States anD territories, at tbe Executive Mansion. , - 

1 1 o'clock. Displag of moDel ana Drawings of tbe proposes enlarges 

Executive Mansion, in tbe East IRoom. 






Booresses : 

Ibistorv. of tbe Erccutlve Mansion During tbe Centum? 1800=1900, 

JSE Colonel "Cbcooorc H. JGingbam, TO.. S. aim?, Supciintcnoent 
of public 3Suiloings ano Orounes. 

Development of tbe ©(strict of Columbia During tbe 
Centura IS00=1900. 

3Bs Ubc Ibonorable Iftcnrg 36. if. flrSacfarlano, iprcsiocnt 
of tbe 36oar6 of Commissioners of tbe Ehstrict of 
Columbia. 

Development of tbe States During 
tbe Century 1800=1900. 

36v Ibis Excellency TLeslic 
rm. Sbaw, Ooecrnor of 
tbe State of llowa. 

Development of tbe Illation 
During tbe Century 
IS00=1900. 

38 1 'Cbe Ibonorable a^s. 
Woaer TOlolcott, 
of tbe State of 
/iBassaebusetts. 





Hn tbe afternoon, 

t.30 o'clock. fTOilitans, IRaval ano Ctvic Escort starts from Executive 
Mansion, marcbing via flSennsvlvania avenue to tbe Capitol. 
Column to be composed a3 follows : 




platoon of finountco (police. 

Civic Escort to flJaraoc, 

•»icutcnant=Gcncral IRclson B. {miles, Grano flDarebal, ano Staff, 

JGrigaoe of tlnitco States Stoops, annv; ano 1Rav2, 

TPrcsiocnt of tbe TUniteO States ano Cabinet, 

ffirifjaoe, IRational Guaro of tbe IDistrict of Columbia, 

Governors of tbe States, xvitb tbeir escorts, in tbe oroer of tbe 

aomission of tbe States into tbe THrn'on, 
Governors of tbe territories, 
Commissioners of tbe district of Columbia, 
Specially flnvitco Guests, 
Centennial Committee, 
tfctcrati an» otber ©rganijatione. 



fllotc : 

TTetails of tbe parabc 
ocscribeo in otbets 
issues bv autboritv. of 
tbe Grano flflarsbal. 







y^fTrffmv -^ ^FTnynr ^ 



fln tbe afternoon. 

2.30 o'clock. IRcview of Escort bv. tbe ©resident of the lamtcO States at 
tbe East front of tbe Capitol. 

3.30 o'clocft. Joint Exercises bg tbe llniteo States Senate ano "Mouse of 
"(Representatives in tbe THall of tbe Ibouse of IRepresentatives. 

Mben order bas been called, tbe Cemporarg {presiding 

Officer, tbe Honorable 2>ax>id 3B. Menderson, Speaker of tbe 

Mouse, will introduce tbe IReverend M. M. /Ibilburn, D.H>. 

Cbaplain of tbe Senate, wbo will pronounce tbe invocation. 

Uhe Speaker of tbe Mouse of IRepresentatives will pre* 

sent tbe Honorable 'watlliam ll>. jfrpe, president (pro 

tempore) of tbe Senate, wbo will assume direc* 

tton of tbe erercises. 

Hostesses : 

transfer of tbe THattonal Capital from iPbtlaoelpbia, 

TIbe Ibonorable panics 2). 1Ricbar6son, Ifteprcscntativc from Tennessee. 

Establishment of tbe Seat of Government in tbe SMstrtct of 
Columbia, 

Tbe Ibonorablc Sereno Si. lpasne, IRepresentatwe from Iftcw yorh. 

'iHistort! of tbe #irst Centurv. of tbe National Capital, 

Ubc Ibonorablc H.ouis si. IIRcComas, Senator from JUlarslan*. 

Cbe jfutute of tbe tlniteo States ano its Capital, 

Cbe lbonorable 3obn isa. H>aniel, Senator from Virginia . 








,t 



Hffl< 



^^^^^^^^^^^7^ 



Ifn tbc Evening. 

S to 11 o'clock. TRcccption in bonor 
o( tbc ©ovcrnors of tbc States ano 
territories, at tbc Cotcotan ©allcrg 
of art. 



3BoatO of Crugtccs, 
Corcoran ©alters of Btt : 

S. lb. Ifeauffman, Iprcsiscnt, jf. J6. fincOuire, Secretary, 

UHalter S. Cor, Wice=fl>rcsiScnt, C. C. ©lover, ^Treasurer, 

Eowarb Glarft, 

Caloeron Carlisle, 

JEcrnars 'If!. Green, 

XUm. Coreoran Eustis, 

•Cbomas Ibsoe. 




flDusie I)? Unites States {marine ;(San6, 

lieutenant TM. lb Sautclmann, 

JDirector. 




Zbc fllational Capital Centennial, 1900 



Joint Committee 

EUGENE HALE. Chairman W. V. COX. Secretary 

Executive Committee 

GEORGE C. PERKINS. Chairman 
HENRY B. F. MACFARLAND. Vice-Chairman 
W. V. COX. Secretary 
CHARLES J. BELL ELISHA DYER JOHN JOY EDSON 

JOEL P. HEATWOLE THEODORE W. NOYES 



MYRON M. PARKER 

Select Committee of TUniteo States 
Senate 

EUGENE HALE. Chairman 
GEORGE C. PERKINS 
JOSEPH SIMON 
JOHN L. McLAURIN 

alexander s. clay 
thomas b. turley 
james McMillan 



JOHN B. WIGHT 

Select Committee of TUniteo States 
House of IReprescntatives 

JOSEPH G. CANNON, Chairman 
WILLIAM W. GROUT 
JOEL P. HEATWOLE 
JAMES S. SHERMAN 
JAMES A. HEMENWAY 
JOSEPH W. BAILEY 
MARION DeVhTIES 
WILLIAM S. COWHERD 
JOHN C. BELL 
ROBERT J. GAMBLE 



Committee from Countrv>=at=5Largc 



Alabama. 


JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON 


Arkansas. 


DANIEL W. JONES 


California. 


H. H. MARKHAM 


Colorado, 


CHARLES S. THOMAS 


Connecticut. 


GEORGE E. LOUNSBURY 


Delaware. 


EBE W. TUNNELL 


Florida. 


WM. D. BLOXHAM 


Georgia. 


ALLEN D. CANDLER 


Idaho, 


F. STEUNENBERG 


Illinois, 


JOHN R. TANNER 


Indiana, 


JAMES A. MOUNT 


Iowa. 


LESLIE M. SHAW 


Kansas. 


W. E. STANLEY 


Kentucky, 


J. C. W. BECKHAM 


Louisiana. 


MURPHY J. FOSTER 


Maine, 


LLEWELLYN POWERS 


Maryland, 


LLOYD LOWNDES 


Massachusetts. 


ROGER WOLCOTT 


Michigan. 


HAZEN S. PINGREE 


Minnesota, 


JOHN LIND 


Mississippi, 


A. J. McLAURIN 


Missouri, 


LON V. STEPHENS 


Montana. 


ROBERT B. SMITH 


Nebraska, 


W. A. POYNTER 


Nevada. 


REINHOLD SADLER 



North 


Carolina 


North 


Dakota. 


Ohio. 




Orego. 




Pennsylvania. 


Rhode 


Island. 


South 


Carol. n, 


South 


Dakota. 



Citi3ens' Committee 

HENRY B. F. MACFARLAND. Ch 
JOHN B. WIGHT, Vice-Chairman 
MYRON M. PARKER, Treasurer 



CHARLES J. BELL 

THEODORE W. NOYES 
JOHN W. THOMPSON 



JAMES G. BERRET 



e. FRANK W. ROLLINS 
FOSTER M. VOORHEES 
THEODORE ROOSEVELT 
DANIEL L. RUSSELL 

F. B. FANCHER 
ASA S. BUSHNELL 
THEODORE T. GEER 
WILLIAM A. STONE 
ELISHA DYER 

M. B. McSWEENEY 
ANDREW E. LEE 
BENTON McMILLIN 
A. W. FLY 
HEBER M. WELLS 
EDWIN C. SMITH 
J. HOGE TYLER (Honorar 
JOHN R. ROGERS 

G. W. ATKINSON 
EDWARD SCOFIELD 
DeFOREST RICHARDS 

JOHN G. BRADY 
N. O. MURPHY 
MIGUEL A. OTERO 
CASSIUS M. BARNES 



JOHN JOY EDSON 
R. ROSS PERRV 
BERIAH WILKINS 



Committee on printing 



PERIAH WILKINS, Cha 



BARRY BULKLEY, Vice-Oha 



RECEPTION AND EXERCISES AT THE WHITE 
HOUSE. 



The ceremonies of the day commenced with a formal recep- 
tion to the Governors of the States and Territories and the 
Commissioners of the District of Columbia by the President 
of the United States. Shortly after 10 o'clock, accompanied 
by members of the Cabinet, he entered the Blue Room, while 
the Marine Band, under the leadership of Lieut. William H. 
Santelmann, stationed in the large hallway, played "Hail to 
the Chief." 

Their excellencies the Governors had meanwhile assembled 
in the Red Room, attended by their chiefs of staff, having 
been escorted to the Mansion by members of the committee 
in charge of the exercises. The Commissioners were also 
present. The President being ready to receive them, they 
were then ushered into his presence and were presented by 
Col. Theodore A. Bingham, U. S. A. The President cordially 
greeted his distinguished guests and some little time was 
spent in conversation. At the close of the reception, the 
guests with the members of the Cabinet proceeded to the East 
Room where they were seated by members of the committee. 

The Governors who attended the reception were their excel- 
lencies Ebe W. Tunnell, of Delaware; William A. Stone, of 
Pennsylvania; Foster M. Voorhees, of New Jersey; W. Murray 
Crane, of Massachusetts; John Walter Smith, of Maryland; 
Frank W. Rollins, of New Hampshire; J. Hoge Tyler, of 
Virginia; Theodore Roosevelt, of New York; D. L. Russell, 
of North Carolina; Benton McMillin, of Tennessee; James 
A. Mount, of Indiana; Llewellyn Powers, of Maine; D. W. 
Jones, of Arkansas; Leslie M. Shaw, of Iowa; Edward Sco- 
field, of Wisconsin; G. W.Atkinson, of West Virginia; Charles 
S. Thomas, of Colorado; Frank Steunenberg, of Idaho; M. A. 
Otero, of New Mexico; N. O. Murphy, of Arizona; John G. 
Brady, of Alaska; C. M. Barnes, of Oklahoma. There were 

59 



60 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

also present the following ex-Governors: Hon. Lloyd Lowndes, 
of Maryland; Hon. Asa A. Bushnell, of Ohio; Hon. H. H. 
Markham, of California; and also Governor-elect A. M. Dock- 
ery, of Missouri. Commissioners Henry B. F. Macfarland, 
John W. Ross, and Lansing H. Beach were present. 

During the reception other invited guests had entered the 
East Room. Here was finally gathered an assemblage typ- 
ical not only of the life of the capital city, but of the nation, 
including the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the 
Supreme Court of the United States, the President pro tempoie 
of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
the Commanding General of the Army, the Admiral of the 
Navy, the Senate committees on the Centennial Celebration 
and the District of Columbia, the House committees on the 
Centennial Celebration and the District of Columbia, the 
Governors of States and Territories, the Commissioners of 
the District of Columbia, the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
Institution, the members of the committee at large and of the 
citizens' committee on the Centennial Celebration, the mem- 
bers of the court of appeals and of the supreme court of the 
District of Columbia, the members of the United States Court 
of Claims, ex-Commissioners of the District, ex-mayors of 
the city of Washington, officers of the Army and Navy, and 
many governmental officials and prominent citizens of the 
various States and of the District of Columbia. There were 
also present the wives of some of the governors, who remained 
attentive listeners throughout the exercises. The wife of the 
Chief Executive occupied a seat in the main corridor, with 
the ladies of the Cabinet families. 

When all were seated, the President entered, accompanied 
by the speakers of the occasion. On a raised decorated plat- 
form in the center was a plaster model of the Executive 
Mansion with the proposed additions. With it were shown 
ground plans and a side section, and also a view of the 
completed bi:ilding. 

At 11.45 o'clock Senator Hale, chairman of the joint com- 
mittee, introduced the chairman of the committee on exer- 
cises at the Executive Mansion, Mr. John Jo} r Edson, as 
master of ceremonies. Mr. Edson at once called on Colonel 



Reception and Exercises at the White House. 61 

Bingham, engineer officer in charge of Public Buildings and 
Grounds, who delivered an address on the "History of the 
Executive Mansion during the century 1800-1900." 

ADDRESS OF COLONEL THEODORE A. BINGHAM. 

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: In the spring of 1792 
the commissioners of public buildings and grounds, under the imme- 
diate direction of the President, undertook the preparation of plans for 
the President's house. The house was occupied in November, 1800, 
although it was not then entirely completed. The room in which we 
now are was not finished. There was no north portico nor any graceful 
south portico, and the north door was approached by narrow wooden 
steps. 

In December, 1900, the commissioner of public buildings and grounds 
presents to you a plan for enlarging the President's house. 

In 1800 the population of the country was five and a quarter millions, 
and there was more than room enough in this house for all the purposes 
for which it was then required. In 1900 the population of the country 
has increased to seventy-six and a quarter millions, and it has long been 
practically impossible for this house to answer the purposes for which it 
is intended. 

In the spring of 1897 I began to study the question of the enlarge- 
ment of the present Executive Mansion, with a view to satisfying myself 
as to whether it should be enlarged; and if so, how. As I became 
familiar with -the daily life of a President, the conclusion was forcibly 
presented to my mind that he would be more comfortable, both in his 
private and official life, if both office and home were under one roof. 
How, then, could an extension of this house be best accomplished, since 
there is sufficient ground for the purpose? Five guiding principles were 
adopted as necessary to be followed in any design for an extension, not 
only on account of their own propriety, but also to meet the wishes of 
the great majority of the American people. These were: 

1 . The present Executive Mansion to remain absolutely unchanged, 
and, if possible, not an outer door or window to be closed up. 

2. The additions to be of such a character as not to dwarf nor obscure 
the present mansion; rather, if possible, to accentuate it. 

3.' Architectural harmony to be absolutely preserved. 

4. The additions to be such as to relieve the pressure upon the present 
building for, say, twenty-five or thirty years, and permit of still further 
extension in the future as may be found necessary, while at the same 
time presenting the appearance of a finished building. 

5. Reasonable expenditure. 

Of all the records I was able to find of extensions which had been 
proposed in the past to the Executive Mansion, that prepared under the 
supervision of the late Mrs. Harrison came nearest to fulfilling the 



62 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

required conditions as just stated. This plan, as many of you doubtless 
know, consisted, in a word, of buildings about the same size as the 
present house, one on the east side and one on the west side of the White 
House grounds, connected to the present mansion by curved wings — the 
quadrangle being completed by rebuilding the conservatories at the south 
end of the grounds. Perhaps the most striking advantage of this plan 
is that it quite maintains the present openness to sun and air toward the 
south and southwest — a vital necessity — and preserves the beautiful view 
to the south as unobstructed as it is to-day. 

Such a quadrangular plan, of course, involves a large expenditure for 
its completion, but it seemed worthy of adoption in general outline. 

One of the conditions by which I limited myself being reasonable 
expenditure, which I assumed at about $1,000,000, study was then made 
of the question, How much of Mrs. Harrison's plan could be completed 
for that sum? It was found that the two wings, one on the east side and 
one on the west side, could probably be built, though in the completed 
plan these wings were intended rather as connecting passages than for 
daily occupancy. 

Study was next given to the question, Could these wings be utilized 
until such time as further addition should be made and the wings could 
revert to their intended use? A satisfactory solution, it is thought, was 
reached. 

It then became necessary to have these studies worked out. For this 
work I naturally turned to Mr. Frederick D. Owen, the architect who 
had shaped up Mrs. Harrison's plans and who was already familiar with 
the limitations which surrounded this question of extending the Execu- 
tive Mansion. The results of our studies are presented to you to-day in 
part. In the short time which has passed since the 1st of last July it 
has only been possible to complete what you see before you. Much 
other work has been done in the study of details, as, for instance, the 
interior finish and decoration, interior steel construction, fireproofing, 
heating, ventilating, refrigerating, etc. 

The plan presented to you complies with the five limiting conditions 
laid down at the outset. As you will observe, the present mansion is 
left unchanged; not an outer door or window of a room is closed, the 
extensions beginning on the prolongations of the main corridors. 

Architectural harmony has been preserved. The main columns used 
are enriched by fluting, but this is a detail which could be changed. 
The same windows and casings have been carried on in the proposed 
additions. Owing to the recession of the extensions to the rear, the 
present building is not obscured nor dwarfed. As to the extensions 
themselves, every shape that could be thought of has been drawn out 
and studied, with the result that what you see before you is regarded as 
the best. The vista which the two extensions present from New York 
avenue and Pennsylvania avenue is fine and in harmony with the 
present front view of the mansion. 



Reception and Exercises at the White House. 63 

Careful study was given to the question as to whether the extension 
adjoining the present mansion should be of one story or two. This 
question was complicated X>y the necessity for having living rooms on 
the second story, under the conditions imposed of a limited expenditure, 
yet providing for all demands made upon the house. It is not impossi- 
ble that a two-storied extension was originally intended by Hoban, the 
architect and builder. For you will remember that this house was 
originally intended to be one story higher, and you can still see at each 
end, just above the arched windows of the second story, a horizontal 
panel across the frieze and architrave, left, as I suppose, for the exten- 
sion joint. Considering that the necessities of the case required the 
extension in two stories, it is submitted that the resulting design is not 
displeasing. 

The necessity for using the second story for living purposes also com- 
plicated very much the construction and design of the large circular 
room on the main floor, but the solution presented will, it is believed, 
prove satisfactory when all the circumstances are considered. 

It is proposed to build the basement of granite, the walls of concrete 
and marble, inclosing a steel framework. At the west end the large 
room would be suitable for a state dining room, capable of seating more 
than 200 guests. That end of the building has been studied with that 
purpose in view, having proper provision for kitchen, serving rooms, 
pantries, etc., in the basement. Provision has also been made at both 
east and west ends for the reception of large companies of guests, with 
necessary arrangements in the way of dressing rooms and wardrobes. 
The large room at the east end is intended as a reception room, 
additional to the present East room. 

On the second story, at the west end, six bedrooms are provided en 
suite, with four bathrooms in connection therewith. At the extreme 
southwest end is a very bright, cheerful room, which might be utilized 
as a boudoir. At the east end of the second story are six additional 
rooms, intended for executive offices, provided with necessary store- 
rooms for records, stationery, etc., and with toilet and wash rooms; and 
at the extreme southeast end there is a room available for visitors, 
newspaper men, or other similar needs. Two additional entrances are 
provided, one more private than the present one and the other more 
convenient for official use. 

It is intended to heat both additions by air, warmed by passing over 
hot-water coils, and to ventilate, heat, and cool the extensions mechan- 
ically. Provision has been made throughout both extensions for ducts 
for the necessary pipes, wires, etc. Lighting is to be electric, and elec- 
tric elevators are also provided in both extensions. 

Although not entirely satisfied with what is offered for your inspec- 
tion to-day, owing to the difficulty of using these extensions mainly for 
living purposes instead of as corridors, I still feel a reasonable confidence 
that examination of the details and explanation of the reasons for their 



64 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

adoption will produce increased satisfaction with the plans proposed. 
Should either of the larger additions, included in Mrs. Harrison's plans, 
ever be added to these extensions, many of the imperfections of the 
present plan due to lack of space would be removed. 

Careful but not final estimates on the extensions proposed amount to 
$1,100,000, including partial furnishing. Should the work be under- 
taken, however, I think from past experience that this estimate is quite 
sufficient. 

In the necessarily short time at my disposal to-day for showing you 
these plans it is, of course, impossible to do more than describe the main 
features. 

The history of this house as it grew, year by year, is very interesting. 
It was a delightful study to trace up the source of Hoban's inspiration 
and see how, point by point, he had improved on his first idea. 

The period of its rebuilding after 18 14 up to its final completion in 
1829, under Hoban's own eye, only increases one's admiration for its 
architectural beauties and for its designer and builder. But for this 
there is at present no time. 

Before closing I wish particularly to thank Mr. Owen for enthusiasm, 
energy, and untiring devotion to the work during the past three years, 
and particularly in the rapid preparation of this exhibit. The modeler 
should also not be forgotten, who with every desire to produce artistic 
work was much hampered by lack of time in completing some of the 
details to his own satisfaction. 

We have endeavored to imbue ourselves with a part, at least, of the 
spirit of the first architect of this house and have worked for the entire 
county; .and if these results please you, its representatives, that is our 
sufficient reward. 

The chairman next called upon Hon. Henry B. F. Mac- 
farland, president of the Board of Commissioners of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, who made the following address on the 
" Development of the District of Columbia during the century, 
1 800- 1 900:" 

ADDRESS OF HON. HENRY B. F. MACFARLA.ND. 

Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen: One hundred years ago 
the District of Columbia became the permanent seat of the Government 
of the United States. For the first time the young nation had a capital 
after twenty-four years of wandering from one State to another. Moved 
by the attack of the mob of soldiers on Congress in Philadelphia in 1783, 
the makers of the new Government had written in the Federal Constitu- 
tion that the nation should have its own capital, in a Federal district to 
be ceded to the exclusive control of Congress. It is the only provision 
for an independent capital ever made by any nation. The North and 



Reception and Exercises at the White House. 65 

South had contended for the honor of providing this Federal district, 
until threats of secession were occasionally heard, and it seemed to some 
that there might soon come to be no need for a National Capital. States 
offered cities, and even capitals, and their Representatives in Congress 
fought over these offers. At last, with a characteristic compromise, the 
fathers provided that the Federal district should be given to the South, 
while the North should be given its desire in the assumption by the 
nation of the Revolutionary indebtedness of the States. Nothing could 
have been more fortunate than this decision, unless it be the determina- 
tion to leave to George Washington the selection of the site for the new 
capital and the direction of its preparation. His own State of Virginia 
had offered 10 miles square. The State of Maryland had done the same, 
and under the authority of Congress Washington had 100 miles of the 
Potomac, from Williamsport, in Maryland, to the Eastern Branch, where 
to choose. 

Washington chose with the eye of a surveyor the best site available 
under the circumstances, and then laid it out with the eye of a seer. 
All that he saw could not come true. The Federal district could not 
contain ' ' the greatest commercial emporium ' ' of the United States 
which he hoped for here, believing that the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 
which he had promoted, would, as its name suggested, with the Potomac, 
connect the then East and West by the most practicable route to the 
sea. Nor could it contain the national university, which was so dear to 
Washington's heart that he richly remembered it in his will, though it 
was to become a roofless university. But Washington saw clearly, what 
few other public men could see, that the young and small, but not feeble, 
nation would grow and expand until it became the greatest of all 
nations. While men were still doubting whether it would last long as a 
nation, George Washington was planning, with the assistance of Thomas 
Jefferson and L'Enfant and Ellicott, a National Capital for all time — a 
city of magnificent proportions, greater and better in design than any 
other in the world. No other city has ever been laid out on such a 
scale or in such a style. Even Washington's reputation for common 
sense did not save it from being called a visionary scheme. For more 
than half a century home and foreign wits jested at it as it lay undevel- 
oped, half village, half capital, through the neglect of the General Gov- 
ernment. Although it was south of Mason and Dixon's line, it was 
almost in the center of the narrow Union of 1800, as it stretched along 
the Atlantic coast; but after the expansion of its domains, begun under 
Washington, three years later, under Jefferson, crossed the Mississippi, 
suggestions of the removal of the capital west of the Alleghenies began, 
and continued, in what seemed an entirely natural way to the statesmen 
meeting in the then Washington, until the railroad and the telegraph, 
making communication so much quicker, deprived the advocates of 
removal of their chief argument. 
H. Doc. 552 5 



66 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The "Federal City," as Washington called it, the "City of Washing- 
ton," as the Commissioners and Congress inevitably called it, is Washing- 
ton's prediction that the nation would live for centuries and would grow 
to the full need of such a capital. It is most appropriate that we begin 
this celebration almost under the shadow of the Washington Monument, 
that unique structure which practically marks the center of the original 
District of Columbia, and in the President's house, which so interested 
Washington, and is the only public building completed in 1800 that is 
still standing. For while Congress in the preliminary legislation pro- 
vided only for a Federal district (though it afterwards ratified the prepa- 
rations for a Federal city made by Washington), the city, named for 
him, has always been more prominent than the District in the world's 
eye, and now that they are so nearly coterminous, the capital will be 
more and more known by its great founder's name; not, however, as 
Washington Cit}-, but as the City of Washington. 

It is interesting to read, in the official and unofficial documents, of the 
part which Washington took, with his customary energy, thoroughness, 
and patience, in all the details of the founding of the Federal district and 
of the Federal city. It was he, personally, who made the bargain with 
the nineteen original proprietors, advantageous to them but much more 
so to the Government, and who finally brought even the refract ory 
David Burns to terms. It was he, personally, who directed the com- 
missioners and the surveyors, as they laid out the streets and built build- 
ings, and who mediated between them when they quarreled. It was the 
crowning work of his life, and perhaps nothing that he did, except the 
Jersey campaign that saved the Revolution and the making of the Con- 
stitution that saved the nation, interested or pleased him more. It must 
have grieved him that he could not live to see the actual establishment 
of the National Government in the city that had been named for him. 
He died in December, and, under the act of Congress passed ten years 
before, the National Government began its removal from Philadelphia in 
Ma5 r . By July the six Executive Departments of that day were all in 
full working order here. By November, President Adams, after a visit 
of inspection in June, was occupying this house, and Congress was in 
session preparatory to the regular session in December. The Supreme 
Court, having adjourned in August until February, did not meet here in 
1800. But through the address of President Adams in Congress, and 
the responses of the Senate and the House, it was officially declared in 
November that the seat of government had been established here. 

These formal announcements and the addresses exchanged by President 
Adams and the citizens are full of gratitude for the fact that the National 
Government had at last a home of its own. Privately, there was much 
complaining over the discomforts of the new city. The letters of Mrs. 
Adams show what was thought of the President's house by his family. 
There were similar criticisms of the unfinished Capitol, while Senators 



Reception and Exercises at the White House. 67 

and Representatives complained of the places where they had to board, 
and all agreed in denouncing the wretched roads which were called 
streets. Besides the construction of a few public buildings at a cost of 
$1,000,000, given by Mar3dand and Virginia or raised by the sale of lots, 
and the outlining of the few streets, little had been done by the Govern- 
ment in the ten years of preparation, and less proportionately had been 
done by private individuals. The Government had no money to spare 
for such work from its scanty treasure, and there were only a few thou- 
sand people here. There had been a good deal of speculation in the 
new-made real estate lots, but there had been comparatively little build- 
ing on them. It is not strange that the members of the Government and 
of the diplomatic corps looked back regretfully from the crude capital to 
the comforts and pleasures of Philadelphia. If Congress had then begun 
to provide for the gradual improvement of the streets and parks reserved 
by Washington as the property of the nation, which owned more than 
half of the new city, it would have carried out the plan of its founder as 
he doubtless intended should be done. But Congress left almost all that 
work to the few thousand inhabitants, who were also expected to pro- 
vide most of the cost of police and fire protection and other municipal 
services, while Congress practically confined its appropriations to the 
construction, repair, and maintenance of the Government buildings and 
their surroundings. 

It was impossible for the people of Washington to sustain this burden, 
which was not shared by their neighbors of Georgetown and Alexandria, 
and as the size of the Government, and with it the population and 
needs of the city, increased, its municipal affairs went from bad to worse. 
Guided by their admirable mayors (at first appointed by the President, 
but afterwards elected, first by councils and later by the people), assisted 
by councils, the Washingtonians doubtless did their best to perform what 
was impossible, but of course failed. Even when Congress recognized 
this failure and provided for some of its indebtedness, it made no material 
change in the arrangement for nearly three-quarters of a century. Indeed, 
it provided no form of government for the entire District of Columbia 
until 1 87 1, and no permanent form of government for it until 1878, 
although in 1801 it did establish a judicial system for it. Washington 
and Georgetown, and Alexandria (until, grown tired of the unreciprocal 
arrangement, she induced the nation in 1846 to let Virginia take back the 
territory south of the Potomac), had each a separate municipal govern- 
ment, while a levy court of justices of the peace in Washington County, 
and a county court of justices of the peace in Alexandria County, looked 
after the regions outside of the towns. The United States, owning more 
than half of the real estate of the District of Columbia, was for nearly 
three-fourths of the century like a visitor rather than a citizen, paying 
no taxes and making but small direct contributions to meet the expenses 
of the city of Washington or of the District of Columbia. It spent over 



68 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

$90,000,000 in the District in that time on public buildings and their 
surroundings, and occasional contributions to local objects, but it left the 
citizens to carry out the rest of Washington's plans and to maintain local 
government. It was not until after the civil war had made the National 
Capital known to the whole country and endeared to two-thirds of it as 
never before, it was not until it had been contended for by the bravest 
armies ever arrayed in battle, that the national interest in it induced 
Congress to assume the nation's share of its government and its burden. 
The National Government ceased to have a transient feeling, and the 
talk of the removal of the capital west of the Mississippi could, for the 
first time, be treated humorously. The hundreds of thousands of men 
whom the demands of war first brought to Washington came from all the 
States and Territories. Man3'of them went home again to tell the people 
how homely Washington was, 3'et how well worth fighting for; many 
remained as citizens, while others gave their lives that it might con- 
tinue to be the capital of the United States. From these men sprang its 
new life. 

The history of the District of Columbia falls naturally into two chap- 
ters. The first covers the seventy-one years in which it had no real 
existence. It was neither dead nor alive, although it had a name to 
live. For forty-six years the cities of Washington, Georgetown, and 
Alexandria lived independently, but in more or less harmony, within the 
limits of the District of Columbia. Then Alexandria withdrew, while 
Washington and Georgetown lived on the same terms for twent3'-five 
years more, but with constantly increasing community of interest. 
Washington, as -the actual seat of Government, naturally grew as the 
nation grew, and much more rapidly than its older neighbors. With a 
selected population, representing from the beginning the best elements 
of the whole countrj', brought together largely in connection with the 
National Government, which at first boasted of long tenure of office, 
Washington developed a local life unique in character. It shared with 
Georgetown a peculiarly refined and cultivated society and an especially 
intelligent citizenship. It had a cosmopolitan tone and view before the 
days of constant and general world traveling. It had the consciousness 
of being distinguished by the presence of the National Government and 
by events in the country's history. Members of the diplomatic corps 
and European travelers who wrote about the National Capital in the 
first half of the century admitted all this, even when they made sharp 
criticisms of its ptn^sical appearance and temporary defects in comfort 
and convenience. It is eas} r to see in the letters and reminiscences of 
the Washingtonians of that time that life here had a flavor and interest 
not found in any other American city. Washingtonians thought nation- 
ally more than the people of other cities, and showed a peculiar public 
spirit as they endeavored to meet the obligations which the neglect of 
the National Government imposed upon them in peace and in war. 



Reception and Exercises at the White House. 69 

To meet the local needs a considerable commercial and manufacturing 
interest developed with the growth of the city, and gradually the taxable 
wealth increased so that by i860 it amounted to $547 per capita. 

The civil war wrought great changes here. For the second time the 
whole District of Columbia was recognized in practical legislation by the 
creation of a metropolitan police force. The exigencies of the war times 
compelled in other ways the recognition of the fact that there was a 
District of Columbia. But Congress was too busy to take up any gen- 
eral scheme for its improvement until ten years later when, by the act 
of February 21, 187 1, it created a territorial form of government with a 
governor and a legislature, the governor and the upper chamber to be 
appointed by the President, together with a board of public works and 
a board of health, while the house of delegates was to be elected by the 
male citizens. 

With this act begins the second chapter of the District's history and 
its real existence under a substantial government. In three years the 
District was transformed, largely through the energy and enterprise of 
one man in the new government. All that should have been done 
toward the improvement of the District, and especially the city of Wash- 
ington, according to Washington's plan in seventy years, was done in 
half that many mouths. The district was saved from being, like the 
then unfinished Washington Monument, a disgrace rather than a credit 
to the great founder. It was literally redeemed and given beauty for 
ugliness, and wealth for poverty. But the first work was done roughly, 
hastily, though thoroughly, and it naturally roused strong opposition, 
and for the time being was misunderstood. People saw the compara- 
tively large indebtedness it created, rather than the incomparably large 
results it ensured, and many of them felt personal resentment, as well 
as righteous anger, against some of the workers. 

Between the private griefs and the public indignation, and a certain 
amount of political feeling, there was pressure enough on Congress to 
induce it to make a radical change of government in 1874, abolishing 
the elective franchise and providing temporarily a government by three 
Commissioners, at the same time guaranteeing the interest and principal 
of the bonds issued for the new improvements and providing for the 
preparation of a permanent frame of government and a plan of dividing 
the payment of expenses between the United States and the District of 
Columbia. Four years later these pledges were redeemed in the act 
of June 11, 1878, which the United States Supreme Court has called the 
"Constitution of the District." It provided, in place of the governor 
and legislature, a board of three Commissioners, to be appointed by the 
President, and to execute the laws of Congress, with the equitable pro- 
vision that Congress should appropriate for the expenses half from the 
District tax funds and half from the National Treasury. Although 
many good citizens have regretted that in the National Capital taxation 



jo Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

without representation is the principle of government, it is generally 
admitted that for the District of Columbia the present form of govern- 
ment is the best possible. Under it the District has doubled in popula- 
tion and in wealth. Under it it has become the most beautiful capital 
in the world. Free from the slighest suspicion of scandal, successive 
boards of commissioners of the highest character have administered the 
affairs of the District more efficiently and economically than the affairs 
of any other American municipality have been administered, and to such 
general satisfaction that there has been no lasting criticism. The com- 
pact between the National Government and the people of the District of 
Columbia for the equal division of its expenses has worked so well that 
no adverse comment is now made upon it. 

As the larger patriotism makes the nation dearer than the State, so 
the capital of the nation claims the allegiance of the citizen of every 
other city, even above that which he gives to his own city. This is 
recognized in the growing desire of our countrymen everywhere that the 
needs of the National Capital shall be generously met. They agree that 
no niggard hand should minister to the nation's city, and that regardless 
of outlay, save that it shall be wise, she shall be kept the most beautiful 
capital in the world. 

After twenty-two years of experience the present government is recog- 
nized as being, in the language of the act of 1878, the "permanent form 
of government ' ' for the District, or in the language of the United States 
Supreme Court in 1890, "the final judgment of Congress as to the 
system of a government which should obtain. ' ' Like all human systems, 
it has its imperfections in theory and in practice, but for its purpose it 
comes nearer to an ideal standard than any other of its kind. Its great- 
est virtue is that it is distinctly a government by public opinion. The 
unusually high intelligence of the citizens of the District, and their 
remarkable interest and activity in the conduct of its affairs, make them 
its real rulers, under the constitutional authority of the President and 
Congress. 

The very character of the District of Columbia as the seat of the 
National Government makes a part of its life the histor}^ of that Gov- 
ernment in the century now closing — the most remarkable since the 
first of our era. Every President, except George Washington, has per- 
formed the duties of his great office, the greatest in the world, within 
these walls. Every Congress since the Fifth has done its work in the 
Capitol. There, too, the Supreme Court of the United States has ren- 
dered all its decisions since the day when John Marshall became its 
Chief Justice. Simply to mention the names of John Adams, and Thomas 
Jefferson, and James Madison, and James Monroe, and John Ouincy 
Adams, and Andrew Jackson, and then of Abraham Lincoln and Ulys- 
ses S. Grant, brings before the mind a throng of great deeds done in 
this very house. Think of the expansion of the country by successive 



Reception and Exercises at the White House. yi 

acts of the Presidents, beginning with Jefferson. Think of the negotia- 
tions with foreign powers, of the war-making and of the peace-making, 
of the formulation of far-reaching policies, and of all the dealings with 
Congress by President after President. Think what went on here 
under President Lincoln alone, when the eyes of the whole world were 
for the first time fixed upon the Capitol of the United States. Time 
would fail to tell the mere story of the great Presidents who have made 
•history in the District of Columbia. 

When we go to the Capitol this afternoon we shall be reminded of the 
great Senators and Representatives and judges who have won lasting 
fame by their services to the country here. Their memorable acts, 
speeches, and opinions are events in our history as well as in the history 
of the country. These illustrious men who have made, executed, and 
interpreted our national laws for a hundred years, belong to the District 
of Columbia as well as to the States that sent them here. They have 
been the dominant element in the life of the District of Columbia, and 
have given its society a peculiar character. 

The District of Columbia, coming to the manhood of States, at the 
opening of the twentieth century, looks forward to a larger and nobler 
career as the capital of the nation which has grown in its short life to be 
the greatest in the world. At the beginning of the nineteenth century it 
was the capital of an ill-defined quarter of the present United States, 
with a population one-fifteenth that of the present, and despised by 
Europe. The flag waved nowhere on the Gulf of Mexico, or west of 
the Mississippi, and only in scattered settlements west of the Alleghe- 
nies. The locomotive, the telegraph, the telephone, and almost all the 
other great mechanical inventions were yet to come. The country and 
the Government were alike poor. There was no American literature, 
there was no American art, there was no American music, there was no 
American press. 

At the beginning of the twentieth century the District of Columbia is 
the capital of a mighty nation whose flag brightens and controls the far 
Pacific as well as the near Atlantic, that holds the headship of this 
hemisphere and leads among the powers of the world, all coveting its 
favor; enriched at home with the material blessings which its myriad 
inventors and industrial chieftains have bestowed upon all mankind, and 
proud of the literary, artistic, and musical achievements of its sons and 
daughters. Made one out of many in the fires of civil war, and strength- 
ened by their tempering, it is even more than the Father of his Country 
believed that in a century it could become. Standing here in its splendid 
capital, looking back with pride on its wonderful past, it can face the 
future with hope, in spite of difficulties and dangers, in a confidence born 
of reverent and trustful devotion still given to Him who has been our 
dwelling place in all generations, and to whom a thousand years are but 
as yesterday when it is passed. 



j 2 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

His Excellency Leslie M. Shaw, of Iowa, was the last 
speaker, the title of his address being "The development of 
the States during the century 1800- 1900." 

ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR LESLIE M. SHAW. 

Mr. President, Members of the Commission; Cultured Ladies; 
Distinguished Gentlemen; Fellow Citizens: At the date of the 
event this day commemorates, the United States of America was com- 
posed of sixteen States — Kentucky, Vermont, and Tennessee having 
been admitted to the Union during the closing decade of the eighteenth 
century. Since then Massachusetts and Virginia have been divided and 
two additional States created without increasing the area included in the 
sixteen, and there have also been added twenty-seven other States. 

To better appreciate the growth of the nation, a few comparisons may 
not seem ill advised. 

Had there been no change in area, and without taking into account 
Territories then or now owned by the nation, and supposing the same 
development and increase within the several States as has been witnessed, 
the United States would be larger than Great Britain plus France and 
Denmark, Greece, Portugal, and Belgium, and would have a population 
more numerous than Italy plus Norway and Denmark; it would out- 
number Austria plus Sweden, Switzerland, and Greece. The population 
of these seventeen States is very nearly equal to that of Great Britain. 

The twenty-nine States admitted during the century have brought an 
increase of territory exceeding the German Empire plus Great Britain, 
France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Greece, Denmark, and 
Sweden. The United States to-day, exclusive of organized Territories 
and other possessions, is larger than European Russia and larger than 
all Europe except Russia, while our population is nearly equal to that of 
Great Britain and France combined, and once and a half as large as that 
of the German Empire. The area of the United States, exclusive of 
organized Territories and possessions, has increased sixfold and our 
population fifteenfold in one hundred 3'ears. 

Not only have we increased numerically and the States developed 
materially and our people prospered financially, but intellectual, moral, 
and religious improvement has been equally marked. While the popu- 
lation of the United States has increased fifteenfold in one hundred years, 
church membership has increased four times fifteenfold in the same 
period. 

We have 16,000,000 pupils receiving elementary instruction, 650,000 
receiving secondary instruction in high schools and academies, 100,000 
in colleges and universities, 90,000 receiving normal school training, and 
50,000 under professional tuition. Comparisons for the last thirty years 
show an ever increasing per cent in the enrollment of children of school 



Reception and Exercises at the White House. 73 

age, as we. I as the number of days' attendance of pupils enrolled and in 
the average length of the school year. The expenditure for educational 
purposes, exclusive of donations to endowments and for college and 
university buildings, exceeds $300,000,000 per annum. 

When the seat of Government was moved to the District of Columbia, 
our 5,000,000 people were dependent almost entirely upon agriculture 
and fisheries. Their clothing was spun and woven in the home of the 
wearer; their grain, home grown, was ground to order, and their meat, 
mostly "range fed," was generally slaughtered at the door of the con- 
sumer. The table of the average American was not then debtor thrice 
a day to three continents for what we now call necessaries. Very little 
consumed by that frugal people, salt and rum excepted, had been trans- 
ported twenty miles from the place of its production. 

The Edinburgh Encyclopedia, published in 1830, spends forty columns 
of an 18-volume edition in describing farm machinery. It calls atten- 
tion to the ' ' conspicuous superiority of British rural implements, ' ' and 
records the fact that "in former times the construction of utensils 
of husbandry was left almost entirely to rude and ignorant artisans. ' ' 
It speaks in glowing terms of a machine for ' ' separating grain from 
straw," which, it declares, "has been brought to a degree of perfec- 
tion that few people expected when it was first introduced." So 
important did these inventions appear to the author of the article, and 
lest their construction might become a lost art, he describes in detail, 
with cuts and drawings, all implements then known to agriculture, to 
wit, a plow 10 feet in length, a single section A-shaped harrow, a roller, 
a two-wheel cart, a drilling machine, a reaper that neither gathered nor 
raked nor dropped, a machine "designed to separate grain from straw," 
and a fanner. 

Time forbids even a hasty review of the more recent as well as more 
marvelous improvements in agricultural methods and appliances, which, 
in forty-five years, have reduced the time in human labor required to 
produce a bushel of corn 85 per cent, and the cost of this labor, not- 
withstanding ever increasing wages, 70 per cent, and which have reduced 
the time in human labor required to raise a bushel of wheat from an 
average of more than three hours in 1830 to ten minutes at the present 
time, and the cost in human labor from 17 cents to 3^ cents. Rates of 
transportation have also materially decreased. The average rate per ton 
per mile charged by one of the oldest and best-known roads in the United 
States has been reduced more than 90 per cent since 1S70, and the aver- 
age rate charged by all roads in this country has decreased 61 per cent 
during the. same period. Average passenger rates have declined 43 per 
cent in twenty years. Freight rates in England are nearly three times 
as high as in the United States, and on the continent of Europe the rates 
are higher than in England. No wonder that agriculture has prospered 
under these favoring conditions, and no wonder that conditions are made 



74 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

most congenial for all industrial pursuits when we note the tremendous 
product of field and fold, of mine and quarry, of furnace and factory. 

Our farms produce per annum in round numbers thirty-seven hundred 
million bushels of cereals, worth $1,300,000,000. We grow two hun- 
dred and thirty million bushels of potatoes, worth $90,000,000; fifty-five 
million tons of hay, worth $400,000,000; eleven million bales of cotton, 
worth $300,000,000; seventeen hundred million pounds of butter and 
cheese, and market two thousand million gallons of milk, worth in the 
aggregate $450,000,000; clip two hundred and seventy million pounds 
of wool, worth $80,000,000; and sell a thousand million dozen eggs, 
worth over $100,000,000; and hold upon our farms one hundred and 
seventy million farm animals, worth $2,250,000,000. And still I have 
not referred to tobacco; nor cane, beet, and other sugars; honey, seeds, 
nuts, fruits, cut flowers, nor many other sources of agricultural and 
horticultural wealth; all of which have been developed surprisingly dur- 
ing the century. I shall not be surprised if the Twelfth Census shall 
show an annual yield from the lands of the forty-five States worth, as it 
leaves the producer $4,000,000,000. 

No less remarkable has been the development in mineral products. 
We produce 14,000,000 tons of pig iron per annum, 35 per cent more 
than Great Britain and nearly 70 per cent more than Germany, and 
over one-third the product of the world. At the same time we manu- 
facture 10,000,000 tons of steel, practically as much as Great Britain 
and Germany, and 30 per cent of the product of the world. While the 
world's production of coal has doubled in twenty years, that of the 
United States has trebled in the same period. We produced in 1899 
more coal than Great Britain, nearly twice as much as Germany, and 
nearly double that of all countries except Great Britain and Germany. 
In the closing year of this century we shall doubtless mine 275,000,000 
tons of coal, nearly one-third of the world's output, worth $250,000,000. 
Not only do we produce more coal, but we also consume more and then 
have more left than any other country on the map. We consume more 
even than Great Britain and all her possessions; and nearly twice as 
much as Germany, the third great consumer. 

In 1845 we mined 100 tons of copper. We now produce nearly 
300,000 tons, worth more than $100,000,000. In ten years the world's 
product of copper has increased 66 per cent, while ours has increased 
twice 66 per cent in the same period. 

We produce, in round numbers, 55,000,000 ounces of silver per 
annum, one-third the output of the world, worth $35,000,000; and 
3,400,000 ounces of gold, one-quarter of the world's output, worth 
$70,000,000. 

We produce, in round numbers, 18,000,000 barrels of salt per annum, 
practically one-fourth of the world's output. This is twice the amount 
produced ten years ago and three times the product of twenty years ago. 



Reception and Exercises at the White Hotise. 75 

Ten years ago Great Britain and Russia each produced more salt than 
we, and Germany quite as much. Now we produce more than Great 
Britain and fifty per cent more than Russia or Germany. 

The petroleum industry is forty-five years old. In 1859 we produced 
2,000 barrels. Since then our wells have yielded 900,000,000 barrels. 
The yield in 1899 was 57,000,000 barrels, worth, crude, $64,000,000. 

Equally favorable showing can be made with respect to nearly all 
mineral products. Our mines and quarries and wells and banks and pits 
yielded last year $575,000,000 worth of metallic and nonmetallic min- 
erals, an increase of 75 per cent in ten years and of 150 per cent in 
twenty years. 

I regret that the latest available statistics of manufactures are ten 
years old and therefore valueless. But so good an authorit}- as Senator 
Nelson W. Aldrich, of Rhode Island, after careful consideration, recently 
predicted that the Twelfth Census will disclose manufactured products 
worth more than $12,000,000,000, exceeding in value the output of all 
the factories and shops of Great Britain and Germany combined, by more 
than $2,000,000,000. The latest available statistics giving the value of 
the tangible property of the United States are found in the reports of 
the Eleventh Census. It is probable that the rate of increase during - 
the present decade will be as favorable as in previous periods. If this 
assumption be correct, then the Twelfth Census will show accumulated 
wealth in the hands of the people of the United States amounting to 
one hundred billions of dollars. 

When the act was passed making the city of Washington the capital 
of the nation, no one had ever seen a steamboat, a railroad, an iron plow, 
or a friction match, or thought of an electric telegraph or telephone, or 
dreamed of an automobile. Established highways were few and poorly 
constructed. Generally, at least, ' ' the roads were built on Adam's plan, 
and not McAdam's." 

The first railroad was constructed in 1830. Since then we have built, 
in round numbers, 200,000 miles. These lines of commerce have 
become the track of empire, the pioneer of civilization. The unsurveyed 
frontier of one hundred years ago is now an eastern metropolis, while 
the unknown wilderness has become a veritable garden of flowers and a 
paradise of fruits. Happy millions, housed in what our fathers would 
have called palatial residences, now dwell where then no white man 
" was or had been from the making of the world." 

The close of the most remarkable century in the flight of time finds 
Americans the best housed, the best fed, the best clothed, the best edu- 
cated, the best churched, the most profitably employed, and the happiest 
because the most hopeful of any people at any time or under any sky. 
Marvelous are the pages of their history; unprecedented and unparalleled 
the record of their achievements; great and honorable the annals of their 
deeds. 



j6 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

We have perfected and applied all sciences known to our fathers and 
discovered new ones. We have harnessed every known physical force 
except the tide, and sought new elements and combinations of elements 
to enslave. We have annexed all contiguous territory lying between 
parallels of latitude congenial to our civilization, and have not been slow 
to assume responsibility, when duty or national honor has demanded, 
beyond these limits. We have made surve3 7 s preliminary to the con- 
struction of a canal for the bisecting of the continent and the nuptials 
of oceans, through which in coming years shall pass the commerce of the 
world, a moiety, let us hope, in American bottoms. Events, unplanned 
and by some unwelcomed, have made the United States the mistress of 
the Pacific. Destiny or man's wisdom, call it which you will, has placed 
both Asia and the islands of the sea under American tuition, and has 
made the flag of freedom the harbinger of better things to 800,000,000 
people, the natural distributing point for whose more than $1 ,000,000,000 
of commerce is under the sovereignty of the United States. 

Surely the future is big with possibilities. To be a parent and respon- 
sible for the development and education of the baby in the cradle is a 
great charge; to be of the faculty of a university with a thousand stu- 
dents is quite enough to make one thoughtful and serious; but to be a 
citizen of the United States, commissioned to instruct a strange and 
ancient people in things new and in ways righteous and in acts honora- 
ble, and to be answerable to the world and to God for results should 
inspire not pride, but humility, and demands of the least and of all the 
exercise of greatest wisdom. 

Mr. Edson explained that his excellency ex-Governor 
Roger Wolcott, of Massachusetts, was critically ill at his 
home, and the address which he had undertaken to prepare 
on the "Development of the nation during the century 
1800-1900" would of necessity be omitted. 

The Marine Band played the National Anthem, the audi- 
ence rising. An informal reception was held, after which 
the President, escorted by the Chief Justice, led the way to 
the dining rooms, where luncheon was served to all present. 
During the luncheon the Marine Band played appropriate 
music, intruding a piece entitled "National Capital Cen- 
tennial," composed by its leader, Lieutenant Santelmami, 
especially for the occasion. 

The floor arrangements for the comfort of the guests, which 
were under the supervision of Mr. Edson, chairman of the 
committee on exercises at the Executive Mansion, were ably 
carried out. His committee was divided into the following 



Reception and Exercises at the Wliite House. 77 

subcommittees: Press, Mr. C. H. Rudolph, chairman; oldest 
inhabitants, Mr. Noble D. Lamer, chairman; ushers, Mr. 
Harrison Dingman, chairman; ex-mayors, ex-judges, and ex- 
commissioners, Dr. Edward M. Gallaudet, chairman; carriages, 
Mr. J. W. Schaefer, chairman; escort to Governors, Mr. S. 
W. Woodward, chairman. Bach of these gentlemen, with 
their assistants, contributed very materially to the successful 
performance of the exercises by the fidelity with which they 
fulfilled the several duties alloted to them, and particular 
mention should be made of the excellent services performed 
by those who acted as escorts to the Governors, in accordance 
with the arrangements carefully planned by Mr. Woodward, 
chairman of the subcommittee on escorts. 



PARADE, AND REVIEW BY THE PRESIDENT OF 
THE UNITED STATES. 



At half past i o'clock, the President, accompanied by Sena- 
tor Hale, chairman of the joint committee, and the members 
of the Cabinet, entered their carriages in front of the Execu- 
tive Mansion, proceeding to Pennsylvania avenue, being 
immediately preceded by the Fifth United States Cavalry. 
They were followed by the brigade of the District of Colum- 
bia National Guard. The governors, with their respective 
staffs or escorts, formed in proper order behind the National 
Gtiard. The signal for the parade to start was given by a 
detail from the guard under command of Capt. C. Fred Cook. 

The following orders for the organization, movement, and 
dismissal of the parade were issued on December 8 by the 
chief marshal, Lieut. Gen. Nelson A. Miles, U. S. A., and 
were closely^ adhered to: 

General Orders, } Headquarters of the Chief Marshal, 

No. 2. J Washington, D. C, Decembers, ipoo. 

I. The escort will be composed as follows: 

Platoon of mounted police; band; citizens' escort, mounted; chief 
marshal; staff and aids; chief marshal's colors and escort. 

Brigade United States forces, Col. Francis L. Guenther, Fourth Artil- 
lery, commanding: Staff; regiment United States artillery, Lieut. Col. 
John R. Myrick, Second Artillery, commanding; staff; First Battalion, 
Fourth United States Artillery, Maj. E. Van Arsdale Andruss, Fourth 
Artillery, commanding; Second Battalion, Fourth United States Artillery, 
Maj. Henry W. Hubbell, Fourth Artillery, commanding; Third Battalion, 
Second, Seventh, and Sixth United States Artillery, Capt. John P. Wisser, 
Seventh Artillery, commanding; battalion United States marines and 
company United States seamen, Lieut. Col. Benjamin R. Russell, com- 
manding; Light Battery F, Second United States Artillery, Capt. Charles 
D. Parkhurst, commanding; Fifth United States Cavalry, Col. William 
A. Rafferty, commanding. 

79 



8o 



Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



President of the United States and Cabinet. 

Brigade of District of Columbia National Guard, Brig. Gen. George H. 
Harries, commanding: Staff; company of engineers, First Lieut. Roy 
B. Hayes, commanding; Second Regiment Infantry, Col. M. E. Urell, 
commanding; First Regiment Infantry, Lieut. Col. B. R. Ross, com- 
manding; First Separate Battalion of Infantry, Maj. Arthur Brooks, 
commanding; Signal Company, First Lieut. F. C. Mattingly, command- 
ing; Naval Battalion, Commander R. P. Hains, commanding; Ambulance 
Corps, First Lieut. W. D. Fales, commanding; High School Cadet Regi- 
ment; Separate Battalion High School Cadets. 

GOVERNORS OF STATES, IN ORDER OF ADMISSION OF STATES 
TO THE UNION. * 







[With staffs and m 


ilitary escorts.] 




I. 


Delaware. 


16. 


Tennessee. 


3i- 


California. 


2. 


Pennsylvania. 


17- 


Ohio. 


32- 


Minnesota. 


3- 


New Jersey. 


iS. 


Louisiana. 


33- 


Oregon. 


4- 


Georgia. 


19- 


Indiana. 


34- 


Kansas. 


5- 


Connecticut. 


20. 


Mississippi. 


35- 


West Virginia. 


6. 


Massachusetts. 


21. 


Illinois. 


36. 


Nevada. 


7- 


Maryland. 


22. 


Alabama. 


37- 


Nebraska. 


8. 


South Carolina. 


23- 


Maine. 


3§. 


Colorado. 


9- 


New Hampshire. 


24- 


Missouri. 


39- 


North Dakota. 


IO. 


Virginia. 


25. 


Arkansas. 


40. 


South Dakota. 


ii. 


New York. 


26. 


Michigan. 


4i- 


Montana. 


12. 


North Carolina. 


27. 


Florida. 


42. 


Washington. 


13- 


Rhode Island. 


28. 


Texas. 


43- 


Idaho. 


14- 


Vermont. 


29. 


Iowa. 


44- 


Wyoming. 


15- 


Kentucky. 


30. 


Wisconsin. 


45- 


Utah. 



GOVERNORS OF TERRITORIES, IN ORDER OF TERRITORIAL 
ORGANIZATION. 



District of Columbia. 
Indian Territory. 



[With staffs and military escorts.] 

3. New Mexico. 5. Alaska. 

4. Arizona. 6. Oklahoma. 



Specially invited guests; Centennial Committee. 

Veteran and other organizations: The Old Guard; Grand Army of the 
Republic; Union Veterans' Union; Eighth District of Columbia Battalion; 
Gen. Guy V. Henry Garrison, Regular Army and Navy Union; Span- 
ish War Veterans; Gonzaga College Cadets. 

II. The citizens' escort, mounted, will assemble on Pennsylvania ave- 
nue, in column of platoons of 12 men each, closed in mass, at 1 o'clock 
p. m., facing the Capitol, the head of the column midway between 
Twelfth and Thirteenth streets. 

*A list of the governors who actually participated in the parade will be found on 
pages 84-S6. 



Parade, and Review by the President. 81 

The staff and aides of the chief marshal will assemble ou Pennsylvania 
avenue, facing the Capitol, at i o'clock p. m. , in column of eights, with 
S paces distance, and intervals suited to the width of the avenue; the 
head of the column opposite the New National Theater. 

The regiment of artillery will assemble on Pennsylvania avenue and 
Fifteenth street west, facing the Capitol, at i o'clock p. m. , in column 
of platoons, 16 files each, at 12 paces; the head of the column midway 
between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets. 

The battalion of United States Marines and company of United States 
seamen will assemble on Fifteenth street, facing south, at 1.10 o'clock 
p. in., in column of platoons, 16 files each, at 12 paces distance, in rear 
of the regiment of artillery. 

Eight Battery F, Second Artillery, will assemble on Pennsylvania ave- 
nue, at 1 o'clock p. m. , opposite the north front of the United States 
Treasury, facing east, in column of platoons. 

The squadron of the Fifth United States Cavalry will assemble in line 
facing south, along the north curb of Pennsylvania avenue, at 1 o'clock 
p. m., right of the line opposite the north front of the State, War, and 
Navy building. 

The salute to the President will be executed b}' this command, imme- 
diately after which it will be wheeled into column of platoons of 12 
troopers each. 

The brigade of the District of Columbia National Guard will assemble 
in close column, at 1 o'clock p. in., on Pennsylvania avenue, head of the 
column at Seventeenth street, conforming in formation to that of the 
brigade of United States forces. 

The staffs and military escorts of the governors of States and Terri- 
tories, in the order designated above, will assemble on Eighteenth street, 
facing south, at 1 o'clock p. m., head of the column at Pennsylvania 
avenue, conforming in their formations to those above prescribed. 

The carriages or mounts of the governors will be assembled in column 
on Executive avenue west, between the Executive Mansion and the 
State, War, and Navy building, in the order of admission of the States 
and of Territorial organization, the head of the column at Pennsylvania 
avenue. 

Upon the conclusion of the ceremonies at the Executive Mansion, the 
governors, in the order above stated, will take carriages as called at the 
south exit of the Executive Mansion and move to their respective posi- 
tions on Executive avenue west and halt, entering the column immedi- 
ately in front of their respective staffs or escorts as the same approaches 
their position. 

Gonzaga College Cadets and other armed organizations of the District, 
unattached, will assemble in column in formation as above described, at 
1 o'clock p. m., on Seventeenth street, facing north, head of the column 
on Pennsylvania avenue, and will follow the veteran organizations. 
H. Doc. 552 6 



82 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Veteran organizations, in the order above prescribed, will assemble at 
i o'clock p. m., on Eighteenth street, facing north, head of column 
at Pennsylvania avenue. The column closed in mass, and will follow 
the military escorts of the governors of the States and Territories. 

The President having been received in front of the Executive Man- 
sion, the column will move in the order and formation already given. 

III. The escort on arriving at First street west will execute column 
left and march to C street north, thence on C street to Delaware avenue 
NE., thence on Delaware avenue to the entrance to the Capitol grounds, 
where the escort will halt and the entire column be closely massed. 

The President and Cabinet will leave the column and enter the Capitol 
driveway at First street west, leading to the Senate wing, their carriages 
being parked in the southeast driveways. 

The governors, whether in carriages or mounted, and all others in 
carriages will leave the escort promptly as soon as the column is halted 
and, following the President and Cabinet, will take position upon the 
reviewing stand, their carriages being parked in the northeast driveways. 

The column will then be reviewed by the President from the reviewing 
stand at the center of the east front of the Capitol. 

IV. The guide for the foot troops will be right; for mounted troops 
the guide will be center. 

V. Salutes will be executed as prescribed in the drill regulations. 

DISMISSAL. 

VI. Organizations, after having passed the President, will not, under 
any circumstances, execute any change of formation, but will hasten 
their march to avoid all possibility of checking the march of organizations 
in rear. 

No organization will be permitted to break ranks and return to the 
Capitol grounds, but will be held intact and marched expeditiously to 
their respective rendezvous. 

No organization returning to its rendezvous will be permitted to use 
Pennsylvania avenue. 

The Fifth United States Cavalry, except the band, will escort the 
President to the Executive Mansion at the close of the ceremonies at 
the Capitol, and for this purpose, after passing in review, will execute 
column left on B street south, and proceed thence to First street east, 
thence north on same to the driveway into the Capitol grounds opposite 
the reviewing stand, thence into this driveway, where they will be 
closely massed and await the conclusion of the ceremonies, when they 
will escort the President by such route as he may elect, to the Executive 
mansion, two troops leading and two following. 

VII. Undress uniform with overcoats will be worn. 

By command of Lieutenant-General Miles, Chief Marshal: 

John A. Johnston, 
Assistant Adpttant-Genej-al. 



Parade, and Review by the President. 



83 



The mounted citizens' escort, under Marshal Andrew Parker, 
was composed as follows: 



E. H. Droop. 



SPECIAL AIDS. 



Maj. Harvey C. Carbaugh, 
U. S. A. 



W.T.Galliher. 
Gist Blair. 
Colin Studds. 



Dr. E. K. Goldsborough. 

S. B. Hege. 

E. H. Pillsbury. 



W.H.Bayly. 
A. C. Moses. 
Dr. A. G. White. 



F. G. Alexander. 
Notley Anderson. 
J. L. Atkins. 

C. Auerbach. 
J. Auerbach. 

J. W.Babson, jr. 
J. Emory Bair. 
Dr. C. A. Ball. 
H.K. Beck. 
F. W. Behrens. 
P. T. Berry. 
Maj. H. L. Biscoe. 
Dr. F. B. Bishop. 
Z. D. Blackistone. 
George S. Boos. 
W. Andrew Boyd. 
J. H. Bradley. 
Austin P. Brown. 
Col. L. S. Brown. 
W. W. Brown. 
Thomas W. Buckey. 
August Burgdorf. 
A. J. Byer. 
Henry Calver. 
E. R. Campbell. 
H.A.Campbell. 
J. D. Carmody. 
James Ciscle. 
W. H. H. Cissel. 

E. A. Clifford. 
H. W. Coffin. 
Robert Cook.- 

D. L. Coon. 
George H. Coutts. 
George E.Corson. 
Percy Cranford. 
A. J. Curtis. 

F. S. Curtis. 
Col. L. B. Cutter. 
Charles W. Darr. 



Dr. J. C. De Vries. 

L. C. Dyer. 

E. M. Dyrenforth. 

George J. Easterday. 

W. K. Ellis. 

George E. Emmons. 

L. G. Estes. 

H. D. Feast. ' 

Charles H. Fickling. 

W. H. Freeman. 

Fred. C. Geiseking. 

John C. Gittings. 

Peyton Gordon. 

G. D. Graham. 

Maj. H. A. Gripp. 

W. F. Gude. 

P. T. Hall. 

J. V. Heidt. 

August G. Herrmann. 

William A. Hill. 

W. K. Hill. 

Charles E. Howe. 

Graham Hume. 

Thomas L. Hume. 

Dr. William M. Hunt. 

Thomas Bryan Huyck. 

Dr. C. H. James. 

B. T. Janney. 

J. F. Javins. 

T. M. Jones. 

E. L. Johnson. 

Dr. H. L. E. Johnson. 

A. W. Kelley. 

J. Miller Kenyon. 

Dr. Richard Kingsman. 

R. J. Kirk-Patrick. 

Walter H. Klopfer. 

Thomas E. Landon. 

Clifford Lanham. 

W. F. Lannon. 



F. B. Dibbey. 

Irwin B. Linton. 

F. A. Lutz, jr. 

Dr. William A. Lyon. 

Dr. Louis Mackall, jr. 

Dr. Charles C. Marbury. 

R. J. Marshall. 

Joseph Mathy. 

F. C. Maxey. 

E. C. Mayberry. 

B. F. McCaully. 

H. H. McKee. 

R. L. Middleton, 

J. H. Miller. 

J. E. Minnix. 

W. S. Minnix. 

David Moore. 

William Muehleisen. 

J. E. Mulcare. 

Allison Nailor. 

P. J. Nee. 

Henry T. Ofterdiuger. 

J. F. O'Neill. 

Thomas J. Owen. 

Benjamin Parkhurst. 

Dr. W. E. Philes. 

Capt. H. L. Prince. 

E. E. Ramey. 
William Ramsay. 
Frank T. Rawlings. 

F. K. Raymond. 
M. P. Rice. 
Joseph Richardson. 
Thomas R. Riley. 
M. D. Rosenberg. 

I. N. Runyan. 
William H. Sands. 
James F. Scaggs. 
J. W. Schafer. 
J. M. Schneider. 



Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



J. A. Shaffer. 

C. B. Smith. 

C. A. Snow. 

De Witt C. Sprague. 

O. G. Staples. 

A. T. Sullivan. 

Dr. L. B. Swormstedt. 

Dr. John Thomas. 

E. S. Thompson. 



Smith Thompson, jr. 
H. A.Tolson. 
J. W. Tolson. 
B. Trueworthy. 
D. C. Turner. 
Joseph Van Vliet. 
Charles P. Walter. 
F. Baker Weaver. 
J. I. Weller. 



C. H. Welsh. 
O. W. White. 
Alexander Wolf. 
William H. Yerkes, jr. 
E. S. York. 
J. C. Yost. 
Elphonzo Young. 



The staff and aids of the chief marshal, whose appoint- 
ments were announced December 6, were: 

Maj. John A. Johnston, U. S. A., adjutant-general. 

SPECIAL AIDS. 

Lieut. Col. Francis Michler, U. S. A. Lieut. Col. H. K. Bailey, U. S. A. 

Lieut. Col. H. H. Whitney, U. S. A. 



Brig. Gen. Joseph C. Breckinridge, 

U. S. A. 
Brig. Gen. John M. Wilson, U. S. A. 
. Brig. Gen. Alfred E. Bates, U. S. A. 
Col. Thomas Ward, U. S. A. 
Col. John F. Weston, U. S. A. 
Commander L. C. Logan, U. S. N. 
Lieut. Col. Henry G. Sharpe, U. S. A. 
Lieut. Col. Alexander M. Miller, TJ. S. A. 
Lieut. Col. Culver C. Sniff en, U. S. A. 
Lieut. Col. George W. Baird, U. S. A. 
Lieut. Col. Charles H. Heyl, U. S. A. 
Lieut. Commander F. S. Carter, U. S. N. 
Maj. George Andrews, U. S. A. 



Maj. Abiel L. Smith, U. S. A. 
Maj. Frederick G. Hodgson, U. S. A. 
Maj. John M. Carson, jr., U. S. A. 
Maj. William A. Simpson, U. S. A. 
Maj. Thomas T. Knox, U. S. A. 
Maj. Edward C. Carter, U. S. A. 
Maj. Webster Vinson, U. S. A. 
Maj. Charles McClure, U. S. A. 
Maj. Harvey C. Carbaugh, TJ. S. A. 
Maj. John L. Chamberlain, TJ. S. A. 
Capt. Eugene O. Fechet, U. S. A. 
Lieut. George M. Hoffman, TJ. S. A. 
Lieut. Winfield S. Overton, U. S. A. 
Lieut. Joseph S. Herron, TJ. S. A. 



The following-named States and Territories, numbering 
thirty-five, were represented in the parade by their respective 
governors or others officially designated, the order in which 
they are given being that of admission into the Union. 

Delaware, Governor Ebe W. Tunnell, escorted \>y Mr. Joseph R. 

Edson. 
Pennsylvania, Governor William A. Stone, escorted by Mr. E. 

Southard Parker. 
New Jersey, Governor Foster M. Voorhees, escorted by Mr. Thomas 

W. Smith. 
Connecticut, Governor George E. Eounsbury, escorted by Mr. F. 

L. Moore. 
Massachusetts, Governor W. Murray Crane, escorted by Mr. S. W. 

Woodward. 
Maryland, Governor John Walter Smith, escorted by Mr. Samuel 

Maddox; and ex-Governor L,loyd Lowndes, escorted by Mr. B. 

H. Warner. 



Parade, and Review by the President. 85 

New Hampshire, Governor Frank W. Rollins, escorted by Mr. E. 

S. Smith. 
Virginia, Governor J. Hoge Tyler, escorted hy Mr. W. F. Mattingly. 
New York, Governor Theodore Roosevelt, escorted by Hon. Martin 

A. Knapp. 

North Carolina, Governor Daniel L. Russell, escorted by Mr. Jesse 

B. Wilson. 

Rhode Island, Governor William Gregory, escorted b}' Mr. W. H. 
McKnew. 

Vermont, Governor W. W. Stickney, represented by Adjutant- 
General A. H. Gilmore, escorted by Dr. E. M. Gallaudet. 

Tennessee, Governor Benton McMillin, escorted by Mr. D. S. 
Hendrick. 

Ohio, ex-Governor Asa S. Bushnell, escorted by Mr. D. A. 
Chambers. 

Louisiana, Governor W. W. Heard, represented by Lieut. Governor 
Albert Estopinal, escorted by Mr. Ernest Wilkinson. 

Indiana, Governor James A. Mount, escorted by Mr. Henry F. 
Blount. 

Maine, Governor Llewellyn Powers, escorted by Gen. Ellis Spear. 

Missouri, Governor Lon. V. Stephens, represented by Lieut. Gov- 
ernor A. H. Bolte; and Hon. A. M. Dockery, governor- elect, 
escorted by Mr. Joseph R. Edson. 

Arkansas, Governor Daniel W. Jones, escorted by Mr. Alexander 
Britton. 

Florida, Governor W. D. Bloxham, represented by Col. F. Q. 
Brown, escorted by Mr. Frederick L. Moore. 

Texas, Hon. A. W. Fly, escorted by Mr. Freeborn G. Smith. 

Iowa, Governor Leslie M. Shaw, escorted by Hon. John B. Hen- 
derson, sr. 

Wisconsin, Governor Edward Scofield, escorted by Mr. Matthew 
Trimble. 

California, ex-Governor H. H. Markham, escorted by Mr. S. S. 
Burdett. 

West Virginia, Governor George W. Atkinson, escorted by Dr. 
Thomas Wilson. 

Nevada, Governor Reinhold Sadler, represented by Hon. W. O. H. 
Martin, escorted by Mr. M. P. Ward. 

Colorado, Governor Charles S. Thomas, escorted by Mr. Thomas F. 
Walsh. 

South Dakota, Governor A. E. Lee, escorted by Dr. E. M. Gallaudet. 

Idaho, Governor Frank Steunenberg, escorted by Dr. D. Percy 
Hickling. 

Wyoming, Governor De Forest Richards, represented by ex-Governor 
W. A. Richards, escorted by Mr. Aldis B. Browne. 



86 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

District of Columbia, Commissioners Henry B. F. Macfarland, John 
W. Ross, Capt. Lansing H. Beach, U. S. A. 

New Mexico, Governor M. A. Otero, escorted by Mr. L. M. Saun- 
ders. 

Arizona, Governor N. O. Murphy, escorted by Mr. H. H. Darnielle. 

Alaska, Governor John G. Brady, escorted by Mr. C. F. Nesbit. 

Oklahoma, Governor Cassius M. Barnes, escorted by Mr. B. H. 
Stinemetz. 
STAFFS ACCOMPANYING THE GOVERNORS OF STATES AND TERRITORIES. 

Governor Ebe W. Tunnell, of Delaware. 

Staff: Adjt. Gen. Garrett J. Hart. 
Governor William A. Stone, of Pennsylvania. 

Staff: Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Stewart, adjutant-general. 
Col. Ezra H. Ripple, assistant adjutant-general. 
Col. Frank G. Sweeney, inspector-general. 
Col. B. Frank Eshleman, judgc-advocate-general. 
Col. Thomas Potter, jr., quartermaster-general. 
Lieut. Col. Samuel Moody, assistant quartermaster-general. 
Lieut. Col. George M. Halstead, assistant commissary-general. 
Col. John V. Shoemaker, surgeon-general. 
Col. Frank K. Patterson, general inspector of rifle practice. 
Col. Shelden Potter, chief of ordnance. 
Col. Asher Miner. 
Aids-de-camp: 

Lieut. Col. Henry Hall. 
Lieut. Col. Thomas J. Keenan, jr. 
Lieut. Col. James M. Reid. 
Lieut. Col. Harry C. Trexler. 
Lieut. Col. Ned Arden Flood. 
Lieut. Col. Charles C. Pratt. 
Lieut. Col. J. Milton Taylor. 
Color Sergt. Jacob Greene. 
Governor Foster M. Voorhees, of New Jersey. 

Staff: Brig. Gen. Alexander C. OHphant, adjutant-general. 

Brig, and Bvt. Gen. Richard A. Donnelly, quartermaster- 
general. 
Brig. Gen. BirdW. Spencer, inspector-general of rifle practice. 
Brig. Gen. Edward P. Meany, judge-advocate-general. 
Brig. Gen. Joseph W. Congdon, inspector-general. 
Col. Robert M. Thompson, aid-de-camp. 
Maj. William J. Sewell, jr., acting aid-de-camp. 
Capt. William Libbey, acting aid-de-camp. 
Capt. Charles W. Parker, acting aid-de-camp. 
Governor W. Murray Crane, of Massachusetts. 
Staff: Adjt. Gen. Samuel Dal ton. 



Parade, and Review by the President. 8j 

Governor John Walter Smith, of Maryland. 
Staff: Adjt. Gen. John S. Saunders. 
Col. Frank Markoe. 
Capt. J. E. Emerson. 
Lieut. Col. J. Frank Supplee. 
Lieut. Col. Charles B. McLean. 
Capt. S. Johnson Poe. 
Maj. Louis N. Rawlins. 
Maj. SethS. Urich. 
Maj. Andrew W. Feuss. 
Cavalry Troop A (under command of Capt. Jos. W. Shirley). 
Governor Frank W. Rollins, of New Hampshire. 

Staff: Brig. Gen. A. D. Ayling, adjutant-general. 
Governor J. Hoge Tyler, of Virginia. 

Staff: Col. W. O. Skelton, chief of staff. 
C©1. King E. Harmon. 
Col. W. O. Moore. 
Col. George S. Shackelford. 
Col. S. S. Thomas. 
Col. C. V. Carrington. 
Col. Alexander Cameron. 
Col. George C. Cabell, jr. 
Col. W. W. Sale. 
Col. W. S. Battle. 
Col. James Mann. 
Col. E. D. Cole. 
Col. Joe Lane Stern. 
Col. John D. Potts. 
Governor Theodore Roosevelt, of New York. 

Staff: Brig. Gen. Edward M. Hoffman, adjutant-general. 
Col. George Curtis Treadwell, military secretary. 
Capt. William Littauer, aid-de-camp. 
Capt. David S. Iglehart, aid-de-camp. 
Maj. William Wilson, aid-de-camp. 
Lieut. Col. Henry H. Treadwell, aid-de-camp. 
Capt. George A. Wingate, aid-de-camp. 
Capt. James M. Andrews, aid-de-camp. 
Capt. Adrian W. Mather, aid-de-camp. 
First Lieut. William L. Flanagan, aid-de-camp. 
First Lieutenant Patterson, aid-de-camp. 
Second Lieut. J. Wray Cleveland, aid-de-camp. 
Governor William Gregory, of Rhode Island. 

Staff: Brig. Gen. Frederic M. Sackett, adjutant-general. 

Brig. Gen. W. Howard Walker, quartermaster-general. 
Brig. Gen. Walter R. Stiness, judge-advocate-general. 



Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Staff: Lieut. Col. Lester S. Hill, assistant surgeon-general. 

Col. Frank W. Tillinghast, aid-de-camp. 

Col. John H. Wetherell, aid-de-camp. 

Col. Robert F. Rodman, aid-de-camp. 

Col. Harold J. Gross, aid-de-camp. 

Col. Felix R. Wendelschaefer, aid-de-camp. 

Col. Henry O. Potter, aid-de-camp. 

Executive secretary Charles H. Howland. 

Brig. Gen. Hiram Kendall, commanding brigade, R. I. M. 

Lieut. Col. Arthur V. Warfield, assistant adjutant-general, 
brigade, R. I. M. 

Sergt. Frank P. Droney, Troop B, Cavalry, R. I. M. (flag). 

Private Edward M. Holmes, Troop B, Cavalry, R- L M. 
(orderly). 
State officials and members of the general assembly: 
Hon. Walter A. Read, general treasurer. 
Hon. Charles P. Bennett, secretary of state. 
Hon. Charles C. Gray, state auditor. 
Senators: 

Edward L. Freeman. 
Christopher L. Champlin. 
Alexander G. Crumb. 
Alfred W. Kenyon. 
Ezra K. Parker. 
John A. Grinnell. 
Benjamin F. Robinson, jr. 
Representatives : 

Frank E. Holden, speaker of the house. 
Harry C. Curtis. 
John L. Remlinger. 
John H. Crosby. 
Other guests: 

Hon. John H. Stiness, chief justice of the supreme court. 

Hon. Charles A. Wilson, United States district attorney. 

Gen. Charles R. Brayton. 

Col. Frank F. Olney. 

Hon. Walter Price. 

Judge Edward M. Burke. 

Hon. Joseph C. Church. 

Rev. Carl N. Rabenius. 

Col. Thomas J. Pierce. 

Mr. John R. Dennis. 

Mr. Alphonse Gaulin. 

Mr. Edward Smith. 

Mr. James F. McCusker. 



Parade, and Review by the President, 89 

Other guests — Continued. 
Mr. Charles Alexander. 
Mr. William B. Banigan. 
Mr. Jesse P. Eddy, jr. 
Mr. George A. Phillips. 
Mr. Lance De Jongh. 
Mr. George C. Cranston. 
Mr. Edwin A. Kenyon. 

Mr. Horace G. Belcher, representative of the Providence Journal. 
Mr. Thomas H. McElroy , representative of the Providence News.- 
Hon. Albert Estopinal, of Louisiana. 
Staff: Gen. Adolphe Meyer. 
Col. R. F. Broussard. 
Col. Phanor Breazeale. 
Governor Llewellyn Powers, of Maine. 

Staff: Maj. Gen. John T. Richards, adjutant-general. 
Maj. Atwood W. Spaulding, military secretary. 
Governor Leslie M. Shaw, of Iowa. 
Staff: Gen. M. H. Byers. 

Gen. Milton Hemley, attorney -general. 
Hon. George L. Dobson, secretary of state. 
Governor Edward Scofield, of Wisconsin. 
Staff: Col. Daniel B. Starkey. 

Hon. J. O. Davidson, State treasurer. 
Governor Charles S. Thomas, of Colorado. 

Staff: Maj. Nathan Gregg, military secretary. 
Governor M. A. Otero, of New Mexico. 

Staff: Adjt. Gen. W. H. Whiteman, chief of staff. 
Col. R. E. Twitchell, judge-advocate-general. 
Governor C. M. Barnes, of Oklahoma. 

Staff: Maj. Joseph E. Ball, chief of staff. 

The military escort of Governor Tyler, of Virginia, con- 
sisted of nearly 400 national guardsmen, representing the 
Seventieth Regiment, Col. George Wayne Anderson, of Rich- 
mond, commanding, with staff consisting of Capt. C. Gray 
Bossieux, of Richmond, adjutant; Maj. W. M. Randolph, of 
Charlottesville, surgeon; Capt. Ashby Miller, of Alexandria, 
quartermaster; and Lieut. G. R. Lewis, of Lynchburg, ord- 
nance officer. The companies from Richmond were Com- 
pany A, Capt. Charles O. Saville; Company B, Capt. Anthony 
W. Miller; Company C, Capt. George B. Shackelford; Com- 
pany F, Capt. A. S. Lanier; Company H, Capt. Theo. C. 
Baptist. Another battalion was under the command of Maj. 



90 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

William J. Perry, of Staunton, embracing Company E, of 
Lynchburg, Capt. P. F. Williams; Company I, of Farmville, 
Capt. John R. Martin and Lieuts. N. M. Gill and J. L. 
Bugg; Company D, of Charlottesville, Capt. William B. 
Peyton and Lieut. John S. White; and Companj- K, of 
Staunton, Capt. Carter Braxton and Lieut. Eugene Somer- 
son. The Virginia contingent closed with Companies A, B, 
C, F, and H, of Richmond, headed by the Richmond band. 

A novel feature of the parade was presented by a part of 
the staff accompanying the governor of Rhode Island who 
rode in automobiles. 

The following special committee was appointed to see that 
the governors and their staffs were placed in proper posi- 
tions in the procession: Maj. H. B. Looker, A. A. Hoehling, 
Charles W. Darr, John Gunnell, and Percy Cranford. 

Following the governors came the specially invited guests, 
including the ex-Commissioners of the District, J. W. Doug- 
lass, L. G. Hine, George Truesdell, and J. B. Wight, and the 
ex-mayors, M. G. Emery ' and J. G. Berret. 2 Then came the 
members of the centennial committee, 3 as follows: 

Senate Committee. — Senators Perkins, McLaurin, Clay, Si- 
mon, Turley, McMillan. 

House of Representatives Committee. — Representatives Can- 
non, Bell, Bailey, Heatwole, Cowherd, Denny, Gamble, Sher- 
man, Hemenway, Grout. 

Citizens' Committee. — Mr. John B. Wight, Mr, Charles J. 
Bell, Mr. James G. Berret, Mr. William V. Cox, Mr. John 
Joy Edson, Mr. Theodore W. Noyes, Mr. John W. Thompson, 
Mr. W. P. Van Wickle, Mr. Beriah Wilkins. 

The veteran organizations in the parade were under the 
marshalship of Maj. L. P. Williams, senior department com- 
mander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and were pre- 
ceded by the John B. Henderson Drum Corps. First in 
order came the Old Guard, in charge of Capt. J. M. Edgar. 
The veterans of the Grand Army and the Union Veterans' 
Union, the latter under command of Gen. Robert St. George 

' Died October 12, 1901. 

- Died April 15, 1901. 

3 Excepting Senator Hale, who rode with the President. 



Parade, and Review by the President. 91 

Dyrenforth, were followed by the Eighth District Battalion, 
consisting of two companies — the Butler Zouaves and the 
Capital City Guard. Then came the Spanish war veterans, 
under the command of Col. Lee M. Lipscomb, senior vice- 
commander, followed by the Guy V. Henry Garrison of the 
Regular Army and Navy Union. The Gonzaga College 
Cadets, under the command of Maj. Frederick L. Devereux, 
followed with their own band, and next came the Jackson 
Democratic Association, with over three hundred members. 
They were marshaled by Hon. James L. Norris, national 
committeeman (Democratic) from the District of Columbia, 
with the following aids: Bernard Kilmartin, John Campbell, 
John A. Clarke, Frederic B. Keefer, Philip N. Tilden, Har- 
vey S. W. DeGraw, and John P. Hamlin. The High School 
Cadet Regiment, which made an attractive appearance in the 
line of the District National Guard, was commanded by Col. 
Clarence E. Boesch, and the "separate battalion" of cadets 
was under the command of Maj. Walter P. Ray. 

When the head of the column of the parade reached the 
east entrance to the Capitol grounds, the line was halted, and 
the President and Cabinet, the Governors and their staffs 
and escorts, Commissioners of the District, specially-invited 
guests, members of the centennial committee and others 
riding in carriages, were driven directly to the Capitol. The 
President and his immediate party, including Hon. William 
P. Frye, President pro tempore of the Senate, and Hon. David 
B. Henderson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
occupied a covered pavilion, which had been constructed for 
the occasion at the east front. On either side of the pavilion 
were passageways. The members of the Cabinet, the Govern- 
ors, Commissioners of the District of Columbia, invited guests, 
judges of the courts, Senators and Representatives, members 
of the diplomatic corps, and the committeemen took positions 
to the rear of the reviewing stand, which was tastefully dec- 
orated with flags. The parade was then reviewed by the 
President. As the organizations of the various States passed 
in review, the Governors of the same took positions, succes- 
sively, by the side of the President, remaining there during 
the march past. 



92 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

When the last organization had passed, the President and 
those with him who had witnessed the review, entered the 
Capitol building, and were ushered into different apartments 
prior to assembling in the order assigned for proceeding to 
the Hall of the House of Representatives for the purpose of 
participating in the commemorative exercises. 

The orders issued by the War Department, the District 
National Guard, the District Naval Battalion, and the chief 
of police, being of special interest in connection with the 
parade, are here reproduced : 

orders for the united states troops. 

General Orders, ] Governor's Island, 

No. 25. j New York City, Novembe?~ 15, 1900. 

In accordance with instructions from the Headquarters of the Arm3 r , 
dated November 13, 1900, the following troops are designated to take 
part in the centennial celebration of the establishment of the seat of 
Government in the District of Columbia, and will be assembled in 
Washington, D. C, by 9 o'clock on the morning of December 12, 1900: 

The Fifth Cavalry Band and one squadron of the Fifth Cavalry, 
under command of Col. William A. Raffertj', Fifth Cavalry. 

Light Battery F, Second Artillery, Capt. Charles B. Parkhurst, 
Second Artillery, commanding. 

The Fourth Artillery Band and a regiment of foot artiller}-, under the 
command of Lieut. Col. John R. Myrick, Second Artillery, to be com- 
posed as follows: 

First Battalion: Batteries N, A, K, and G, Fourth Artillery, Maj. E. 
Van A. Andrus, Fourth Artillery, commanding. 

Second Battalion: Batteries D, E, L, and H, Fourth Artillery, Maj. 
Henry W. Hubbell, Fourth Artillery, commanding. 

Third Battalion: Batteries G, First Artillery; B, Seventh Artillery; 
B, Second Artillery, and M, Sixth Artillery; Capt. John P. Wisser, 
Seventh Artillery, commanding. 

The above-mentioned troops will be under the command of Col. 
Francis L. Guenther, Fourth Artillery. 

Each foot battery will have, if possible, not less than two officers, and 
will be of such strength as to form with a front of thirty-two files, exclu- 
sive of guides. 

The staff of the commander will be composed of his regimental staff 
and a surgeon, whom he will select. The staff of the commander of the 
regiment of foot artillery will be composed of two officers, whom he shall 
select. Each battalion commander will select a commander adjutant. 

The commanding officers of Fort Myer and Washington Barracks will 



Parade, and Review by the President. 93 

each cause one ambulance, properly manned and equipped, to be reported 
to the surgeon with the commander of the troops for assignment. 

Undress uniform with overcoats will be worn. 

Upon determination of the duty contemplated, the troops will return 
to their respective stations. 

Further instructions concerning the hour and formation for the cere- 
mony will be communicated in due season. 

The Quartermaster's Department will furnish the transportation, and 
the Subsistence Department the necessary subsistence. 

By order of Maj. Gen. John R. Brooke: 

M. V. Sheridan, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

ORDERS FOR DISTRICT NATIONAL GUARD. 

The National Guard of the District of Columbia will assemble for 
escort and parade duty on Wednesday, December 12, 1900, to participate 
in the Centennial Celebration of the Establishment of the Seat of Govern- 
ment in the District of Columbia. The brigade will assemble in close 
columns, right in front, facing east, at 12.50 o'clock p. m., in Pennsyl- 
vania avenue NW., head of column resting on Seventeenth street, the 
order of formation to be as follows: 

General staff and noncommissioned staff. 

Brigade band. 

Engineer corps. 

Second regiment of infantry. 

First regiment of infantry. 

Corps of field music. 

First separate battalion. 

Signal corps. 

Naval battalion. 

Ambulance corps. 

Undress uniform, with overcoats, forage caps, leggings, and white 
gloves, will be worn; the naval battalion to be in its prescribed uniform. 

All members of the general staff and noncommissioned staff, and all 
regimental, field, and staff officers, will be mounted and will wear the 
prescribed undress mounted uniform, with overcoats. 

Commanding officers of companies will furnish their battalion adju- 
tants with "morning reports" immediately after the parade is dismissed, 
noting thereon the names of all officers and men absent from the parade 
without leave. Commanding officers of regiments, separate battalions, 
and separate companies, will furnish these headquarters with consolidated 
morning reports before 10 o'clock a. m. of the 13th instant; will see 
that all enlisted men absent without leave are properly dealt with, and 
will report to these headquarters the names of all commissioned officers 
so absent. / 



94 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

ORDERS FOR DISTRICT NAVAL BATTALION. 

[Issued by Commander Robert P. Haines, commanding the naval battalion. District of Columbia 
National Guard.] 

The naval battalion will assemble on board the U. S. S. Fern at 
9.30 o'clock a. m,, December 12, 1900; uniform blue, with overcoats 
and leggings, ready to take up the line of march to the point of assembly 
of the National Guard, at n o'clock, in the order of close column for- 
mation, as follows: 

Buglers and drummers, battalion staff, signal corps. 

First division, equipped as infantry, with color guard on the left, 
consisting of two petty officers and two men, armed with cutlasses. 

Second division, equipped as artillery, 3-inch fieldpieces; staff, petty 
officers, ambulance. 

Divisional commanders will see that the men of their commands are 
properly equipped, belts square, hats adjusted straight, leggings laeed the 
entire length, arms cleaned and properly carried, and will furnish the 
battalion adjutant with reports immediately after the parade is dismissed, 
noting thereon the names of all officers and men absent without leave. 

The executive officer will act as battalion adjutant. 

In passing the east front of the Capitol, the salute will be executed 
at the north line of the reviewing stand and maintained until the south 
line of the stand is reached. Guide will be ' ' right. ' ' Distance between 
divisions, eight paces. 

After the parade the battalion will be marched to the Fern, and 
prior to dismissal divisional commanders will see that all arms and 
equipment, leggings, and pea-jackets are properly returned. 

The men being called out under special orders, National Guard head- 
quarters, those in Government employ will receive their pay, and be 
provided with time certificates by the divisional officers. 

ORDERS FOR METROPOLITAN POLICE. 
[Issued by Maj. Richard Sylvester, Chief of Police.] 

At 10 o'clock a. m. , December 12, 1900, a reception by the President of 
the United States to the Governors will take place at the Executive 
Mansion. In order that every facility may be afforded those going to 
and coming therefrom, the full force under command of Sergeant Goss 
will report to that officer at the Executive Mansion at 9.15 a. m., in full 
dress, with white gloves, and an additional detail of 8 privates and 3 
mounted men, in like attire, will report to the same officer at the time 
and place mentioned. 

Sergeant Goss will in the meantime report to Col. Theo. A. Bingham, 
U. S. A. , for instructions. 

At 1.30 o'clock p. m. a civil, military, and naval parade will take place 
from the Executive Mansion to the United States Capitol. 



Parade, and Review by the President. 95 

Pennsylvania avenue from Seventeenth street NW. to Fifteenth street, 
to Pennsylvania avenue, to First street NW. will be roped, but the 
parade will follow along First street to C street, to Delaware avenue, to 
the Capitol grounds, where it will halt. At First street the President 
and Cabinet and other distinguished guests will proceed by the roadway 
through the north Capitol grounds, passing under the east Senate steps 
and on to the basement east entrance, where they will alight and enter 
the building. 

At the close of the ceremonies at the Executive Mansion the 8 privates 
detailed thereat will report to Lieutenant Boyle. The 3 mounted men 
will flank the carriages of the President and party on the right next to 
the curb, 20 paces apart. 

Lieutenant Boyle will have 3 mounted men flank the carriages of the 
President and part}' on the left, next to the curb, 20 paces apart. 

Lieutenant Boyle will detail 6 privates to flank the same carriages on 
right and left, who will preserve their positions next to the curb in 
single file, 25 paces apart, and march to the Capitol. 

Lieutenant Boyle will detail 2 mounted men to flank the carriages of 
the visiting governors on right and left, to move with the parade. 

Lieutenant Boyle will detail 2 mounted men at Seventeenth street to 
flank the governors' staffs on right and left, who enter the line from 
Eighteenth street. 

A detail of 50 privates and 12 mounted men will report to Lieutenant 
Boyle on Pennsylvania avenue north of the Executive grounds at 12.45 
o'clock p. m. , these to include 8 privates and 3 mounted men heretofore 
mentioned to report at the Executive Mansion at 9.15 a. m. With this 
force he will clear Pennsylvania avenue from Fifteenth to Eighteenth 
streets NW. of all unauthorized persons and vehicles at 1 o'clock p. m., 
and further carry out the preceding instructions when the parade moves. 

A detail of 60 privates will report to Lieutenant Amiss at Fifteenth 
street and Pennsylvania avenue at 12.45 o'clock p. m., with which force 
he will clear from Fifteenth street at New York avenue, Fifteenth street 
and the avenue to Ninth street NW. at 1 o'clock p. m., all unauthorized 
persons and vehicles. 

A detail of 60 privates will report to Lieutenant Moore at 12.45 o'clock 
p. m., at Ninth street and Pennsylvania avenue, with which force he 
will clear the avenue from the west side of Ninth street to First street 
NW. of all unauthorized persons and vehicles at 1 o'clock p. m. 

When the carriages of the President and Cabinet officers leave the line 
at First street to proceed through the Capitol grounds, as heretofore 
stated, the mounted men and footmen flanking will continue through the 
grounds and facilitate the parking of their carriages and return with 
them in like order, except that the footmen will be dismissed to return 
to their precincts, and 2 of the 6 mounted escort will report to Captain 
Austin 4 remaining with the carriages. 



96 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

A detail of 20 privates will report to Lieutenant Heffner at First street 
and Pennsylvania avenue at 12.45 o'clock p. m. , and at 1 o'clock clear 
First street to C street, C street to Delaware avenue, of all unauthorized 
persons and vehicles. 

Lieutenants Swindells, Kenuey, Daley, and McCathran, mounted; 8 
privates, mounted, and 90 footmen will report to Capt. M. A. Austin, 
mounted, at the United States Capitol, at 1 o'clock p. m. 

At 10 o'clock a. m. 9 footmen will report to Sergeant Kaucher at the 
east front of the United States Capitol and clear the Senate east front 
and House steps of all unauthorized persons, and allow no one to go 
thereon from the street. 

At 12.45 o'clock all unauthorized persons and vehicles will be cleared 
from the driveway east of the Capitol between the building and the rope 
on the east and B street north to B street south, except that the public 
will be permitted to occupy the intermediate grass plats. 

At the conclusion of the ceremonies in the Capitol the cavalry troop, 
which will have massed west of the statue of Washington, will proceed 
to accompany the President's carriage on its return to the Executive 
Mansion, and the captain will see that the rope across the east side of 
the grounds is opened in order to permit of the cavalry coming forward. 

Sergeants Matthews and Harry and 14 mounted privates will report 
to the major and superintendent of police at the corner of Twelfth street 
and Pennsylvania avenue at 1 o'clock p. m. 

After the parade has been reviewed at the Capitol a section of the 
foregoing detail under Sergeant Harry will escort Lieutenant- General 
Miles and staff to the War Department via B street south to First street, 
to Pennsylvania avenue. 

The other section of the mounted detail, under Sergeant Matthews, 
will take position near the location of the President's carriage, and pre- 
cede the platoon of cavalry which will act as escort to the Executive 
Mansion at the close of the exercises in the Capitol. 

All streets and avenues included in the route of parade must be closed 
to traffic of all kinds and to unauthorized persons at 12.45 o'clock p. m. 

The several lieutenants in charge along the line of parade will provide 
and place ropes at intersecting streets, and no vehicles, excepting United 
States mail wagons, will be permitted to cross the streets and avenues of 
parade after 12.45 o'clock p. m. 

Members of the press and telegraph messengers will have tickets per- 
mitting them to cross the lines, and no exceptions will be made to others 
except in case of emergency and by order of a lieutenant or sergeant. 

Ambulances will be stationed as follows: 

Emergency, at Seventeenth street and Pennsylvania avenue NW. 

Garfield, at Fifteenth street and New York avenue NW. 

Freedmen's, at Thirteenth and E streets NW. 

Police, at Ninth street and Pennsylvania avenue NW. 



Parade, and Review by the President. 97 

Police, at Four-and-a-half street and Pennsylvania avenue NW. 

Police, at Delaware avenue and B street NE. 

Lieutenants will utilize patrol wagons as their judgment may dictate. 

Citizens having police authority will assist the police, and may be 
called upon for such purpose. 

The command under Lieutenant Boyle will give the close of the parade 
safe and clean conduct to Fifteenth street and Pennsylvania avenue, 
where the officers detailed to the first precinct will do likewise to Ninth 
street, where the officers detailed to the sixth precinct will do likewise 
to Delaware avenue. 

Members of the force along the line of the parade, except at the Cap- 
itol, will be dismissed as soon as practicable after the parade, but the 
command at the Capitol will be subject to the orders of Captain Austin. 

At 7 o'clock p. m. 40 privates, in dress coats and white gloves, and 6 
mounted men will report to Lieutenant Boyle at the north entrance to 
the Corcoran Art Gallery. 

The lieutenant will arrange for cloaking the overcoats and belts at the 
Gallery. 

All- members of the force will wear white gloves during time of parade. 

Members of the force are expected to be respectful, but firm, and per- 
sons who are out of order or attempt to provoke trouble should be 
arrested. 

Orders for the day park the carriages of the President and Cabinet in 
the southeast driveways at the Capitol, which may be reached readily by 
B street south, and carriages of the governors will be parked in the 
northeast driveways. 

. All ropes along the route of parade, including supports, and at the 
Capitol grounds will be removed by employees of the engineer depart- 
ment immediately following the conclusion of the parade. 

The many important details contributing to the successful 
accomplishment of the plans for the parade were under the 
charge of Hon. John B. Wight, chairman of the committee 
on parade and decorations. The pun duality with which this 
arduous part of the programme was carried out was very largely 
due to his carefully-planned arrangements. The distribution 
of the bands was so effected as to furnish a continuance of 
music sufficient for the whole line, yet not in such excess as 
to produce the discordance and confusion of step so commonly 
noticeable on occasions of this kind. The engagement of the 
bands was intrusted to Mr. T. F. Alvey, a member of the com- 
mittee, and special reference is also made in Mr. Wight's 
report to the efficient aid rendered under the supervision of 
H. Doc. 552 7 



98 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Messrs. L. B. Cutler, Joseph Auerbach, B. M. Bridget, Charles 
E. Kern, Isaac Gans, D. Agnew Greenlees, W. W." Danen- 
hower, F. B. Pyle, E. S. Ford, W. F. Hart, and Oscar W. 
White, who personally secured the decorations along the line 
of march; Capt. Andrew Parker, for the organization of civic 
escort; Mr. W. C. Allen, for his capable supervision of the 
illuminations of Seventeenth street and the approach to 
the Corcoran Gallery of Art; ancLMr. W. H. Rapley, for his 
valuable assistance in placing the Governors and other dis- 
tinguished guests in their respective positions in the parade. 



EXERCISES AT THE CAPITOL. 



At 3.30 o'clock, the hour appointed by law for a joint 
convention of the Senate and House of Representatives to 
celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment 
of the permanent seat of Government in the District of 
Columbia and of the first session of Congress held in the 
permanent Capitol, the President of the United States with 
the members of his Cabinet, the president pro tempore and 
members of the United States Senate, the Chief Justice and 
associate justices of the Supreme Court, the foreign ambas- 
sadors and ministers to the United States, the governors of 
the States and Territories, the Commissioners of the District 
of Columbia and those entitled to admission to the floor, 
entered the Hall of the House of Representatives, which 
body was already in session. 

Long before the hour of the ceremonies arrived, the galleries 
had been filled with invited spectators, including in the press 
gallery a large number of the most prominent journalists of 
the country. The standing committee of correspondents in 
charge of the press gallery, at the request of the citizens' 
committee, extended the privileges of the gallery to the 
members of the press committee. 

The assemblage being seated, the Speaker, Hon. David B. 
Henderson, of Iowa, arose and stated that under the provi- 
sions of the law and in accordance with the programme 
which had been arranged by duly appointed committees, it 
became his duty to call the convention to order. This being 
done, he requested the Chaplain of the Senate, Rev. Dr. 
W. H. Milburn, to open the exercises with prayer. 

99 



ioo Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Dr. Milbtirn delivered the following invocation: 

We praise Thee, we worship Thee, we give thanks to Thee, O Lord 
God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. 

Thus have Thy people in all ages of our era chanted or said the 
angels' song; and we, in this latest birth of time, come to join our 
hearts and voices in this latest ascription of honors to Thee. Especially 
are we moved to this devotion when we behold the marvels which Thou 
hast wrought in this our country within the last hundred 3^ears; a 
nation of 3,000,000 people, huddled in lowly places of residence, grown 
to well-nigh four score millions and one of the powers of the earth; and 
this city, from an insignificant and almost squalid village, grown to be 
one of the fairest and stateliest capitals of the world, challenging the 
admiration and the homage of all well-informed and traveled people. 

For these Thy gifts and the promises which the} 7 contain, we join in 
the angels' song — 

Glory to God in the mghest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 

And now we humbly ask Thy blessing upon this notable assembly; 
upon the first and most eminent citizen of the land, our honored Presi- 
dent, and the members of his official f amity; upon the Chief Justice and 
associate justices of the Supreme Court; upon the President and all 
members of the Senate; upon the Speaker and all members of the 
House of Representatives; upon the chief men of the Army and Navy 
of the country; upon the gathering of Governors, the heads of the sov- 
ereign States of this great Republic; upon all who are engaged in the 
making, the interpretation, and the execution of the laws. 

Nor would we forget the public-spirited citizens who have moved in 
this matter and brought it to so admirable a conclusion. And we hum- 
bly come to Thee, in our hearts and best desires asking Thy blessing 
upon the ambassadors and ministers of the foreign nations and powers 
with whom we are at peace and amit3'. And upon this great concourse 
of men and women who represent the masses of our country from sea to 
sea let Thy loving kindness descend and abide. 

And so, moved in heart with unutterable gratitude for all Thy benefits, 
we cry "Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!" 

All of which, in praise and prayer to Thee, we offer in the name and 
mediation of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. 

The Speaker then introduced the President pro tempore of 
the Senate, Hon. William P. Frye, of Maine, to preside over 
the exercises of the convention, who, after briefly stating the 
purpose for which the assemblage had met, called upon the 
Hon. James D. Richardson, a Representative from the State 
of Tennessee, to deliver an address on the subject of "the 
transfer of the national capital from Philadelphia." 



Exercises at the Capitol. 101 

ADDRESS OF HON. JAMES D. RICHARDSON. 

Mr. President : It is a matter of the sincerest congratulation to us 
all on this auspicious occasion that there is assembled in this historic 
Chamber, the official home of the representatives of the people, this 
splendid audience, comprising in part the Governors of the States, the 
Lieutenant-Geueral of the Army, the Admiral of the Navy, detachments 
of the Arm}-, Navy, Marine Corps, and National State Guards; the 
Commissioners of the District of Columbia; the diplomatic corps, resident 
with us ; the members of the several courts of the District of Columbia, 
the Chief Justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court, the Senate, 
and, with his Cabinet of constitutional advisers, the Chief Magistrate of 
our beloved country. 

The occasion for bringing together so large a number of illustrious 
public men and officials can not be without great national significance. 
As a nation we have just emerged from a fierce contest between the dif- 
ferent parties for political supremacy, which was characterized in most 
quarters by manly warfare. This political struggle ended as similar 
contests have heretofore had their sequel, in bringing unhappy regrets 
and disappointments to many, while it brought contentment and joy to 
others. It is a source of pride to every patriotic American who loves his 
country and her institutions that, when these periodical battles come 
around, although the conflict may have raged with desperation while 
the heat of the struggle was on, yet when the victory is won, "liberty 
has not lost but gained in strength," and ever}' man, from the highest 
to the humblest in the land, dutifully accepts the result and loyally 
upholds the verdict reached. But the cause of our coming together is 
wholly apart from our recent contest. We are here to take part in a 
highly interesting ceremony — ' ' the celebration of the centennial anni- 
versary of the establishment of the seat of government in the District 
of Columbia." 

The first Congress under the Constitution assembled in the city of 
New York in 1789. One of the first questions which engrossed the 
attention of the Congress and the country was, Where shall the seat of 
government be located? This question was debated with acrimony and 
bitterness, and in the minds of some of the participants therein much 
sectional feeling was engendered. Such subjects always excite warmth 
in debate and more or less of irritation. It has been charged that the 
location of the capital was the result of a bargain between the contend- 
ing sides in the Congress. If it was not an express bargain, it was the 
direct result of a compromise between the factions. The plan of com- 
promising for a result so early instituted in our history has never been 
abandoned, and I fear is too often resorted to by those who are looking 
out for special objects. Alexander Hamilton, in his full manhood, with 
all his ability, was then endeavoring to have Congress assume the debts 
of the several States of the Union, which had come to them as legacies of 



102 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

the great Revolution. He eloquently maintained that the public debt 
was "the price of liberty." His plan of assumption was rejected by 
Congress. The excitement resulting therefrom ran so high and the 
public feeling was so greatly embittered it seemed that the experiment 
of a general government had failed. It was said that Congress assem- 
bled thereafter eve^ morning as usual, but only to adjourn at once, as 
the two sides were "too much out of -temper to do business together." 
The question was largely the North versus the South; centralization 
against the rights and dignity of the State governments. Hamilton 
refused to submit to the verdict reached, and kept up his fight, while 
Madison and those who stood with him resolutely resisted him. Late in 
his life Mr. Madison, in giving his version of this parting of company 
with Hamilton , said that ' ' the purpose of the latter was to commit the 
Government to a polic)' totally different from that which he and I both 
knew perfect^ well had been understood and intended by the convention 
which framed the Constitution and by the people in adopting it." 

In the emergenc}^ upon them a compromise was effected, the details of 
which I will omit, but the result was that Hamilton and his friends car- 
ried assumption, and the capital was located on the Potomac. Prior to 
this action a measure had almost gone through Congress to fix the seat 
of government at Wrights Ferry, on the Susquehanna. This place is 
within the State of Pennsylvania and within the Congressional district 
represented by Mr. Zeigler. It is now known as Wrightsville. By a 
census of this town which I remember to have seen not very many years 
ago, it contained "two sawmills and 1,310 inhabitants." 

We learn that the members from New England and New York agreed 
in proposing Wrights Ferry, and claimed it was the point nearest the 
center of population and wealth, and that it would remain so indefinitely. 
For many days this location appeared to have a better chance of becom- 
ing the capital than either Harrisburg, Baltimore, New York, German- 
town, Philadelphia, or any other place proposed. Wrights Ferry was 
shown in the debate to be the veritable "hub of the universe," a region 
favored by nature above all others. One gentleman advocating the loca- 
tion there claimed that not merely the soil, the water, and the "advan- 
tages of nature were unsurpassed," but he said — 

"If honorable gentlemen were disposed to pay much attention to a 
dish of fish, he could assure them their table might be furnished with 
fine and good from the waters of the Susquehanna." 

Mr. Madison favored the shores of the Potomac as the place, and 
insisted the location should be in a central position, geographically 
speaking. The first reason assigned by him was that the Government 
would expend probably a half million dollars, and every citizen should 
partake of this advantage as equally as nature had rendered it possible. 
And further he said — 

"If it were possible to promulgate our laws by some instantaneous 



Exercises at the Capitol. 103 

operation, it would be of less consequence in that point of view where the 
Government might be placed." 

Upon a vote being taken in the House the advocates of Wrights Ferry 
on the Susquehanna triumphed, but the Senate amended the bill by- 
inserting " German town." The House would not accept the amend- 
ment, and the session ended without an agreement. The subject was 
brought forward again in the spring of 1790, and after something of a 
repetition of the proceedings of the former session the compromise was 
made by which it was agreed that assumption should prevail and that 
the capital should go permanently to the southern location on the bank 
of the Potomac. Accordingly, on July 16, 1790, Congress passed the act 
which provided, among other things, "that a district of territory not 
exceeding 10 miles square, to be located as hereafter directed on the river 
Potomac at some place between the mouths of the Eastern Branch and 
Conogocheague, be, and the same is hereby, accepted for the permanent 
seat of the Government of the United States. ' ' 

And further provided ' ' that prior to the first Monday in December 
next all offices attached to the seat of Government of the United States 
shall be removed to, and until the first said Monday in December in the 
year 1800, shall remain at the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Penn- 
s)dvania, at which place the session of Congress next ensuing to the 
present shall be held." 

The act was amended March 3, 1791, by which it was provided that 
the lines were to be so run as to include a portion of the territory below 
the mouth of the Eastern Branch. It was also provided that the public 
buildings should be erected on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. 

Mr. Hamilton and his followers were made happy by the passage of 
the assumption act, the national credit was established and made sure, 
and has never since been shaken — except temporarily — and we all trust 
is destined to stand unimpaired so long as the Republic survives. 
The hopes of the other localities — Harrisburg, Baltimore, New York, 
Germantown, and Wrights Ferry — to become the seat of Government 
were forever blasted, and Philadelphia was put off by being given a 
temporary blessing of ten years' short duration. 

The preparations for the removal began at an early date after the 
passage of the act of January 16, 1790. Under the law three commis- 
sioners were appointed by the President on January 22, 1791, to survey 
the territory for the District. The States of Maryland and Virginia, 
respectively, having passed acts of cession, the survey was made, and on 
March 30, 1791, the President, by formal proclamation, declared and 
made known the territory 10 miles square for the District. 

On September 18, 1793, the corner stone of the Capitol building was 
laid by President Washington with imposing ceremonies. A procession, 
consisting — with others — of Free Masons and of the military and civil 
authorities, took appropriate parts in these ceremonies. The Masons 



104 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

were represented by the Grand Lodge of Maryland and by Lodge No. 
22, of Alexandria, Va. Washington delivered an address. After the 
ceremonies ended all partook of a barbecue feast prepared for the 
occasion. 

In pursuance of law, in May, 1800, the ten years having expired, 
the archives and general offices of the Federal Government were removed 
to Washington, and hence my subject to-day, "The transfer of the 
national capital from Philadelphia to Washington." I need not go 
further than I have, as my subject does not require it, into the assign- 
ment of reasons why the capital was transferred to Washington, the 
motives which caused the removal, and the arguments which were 
potential in bringing it about. I shall not recite at length the details of 
the removal. We learn that on May 28, 1800, a notice was posted on 
the office door of the Secretary of State in Philadelphia, of which the 
following is a copy: 

' ' The office of the Department of State will be removed this day from 
Philadelphia. All letters and applications are therefore to be addressed 
to that Department at the city of Washington from this date. ' ' 

President Adams had left Philadelphia the preceding day, and made 
the journey to Washington overland. The books, papers, furniture, etc., 
of the Government were brought by water transportation and landed at 
one of the wharves and thence carted to the several offices. Washington 
was then a mere village and poorly prepared to entertain the officers of 
the Government, although the number was small. The employees for 
the first year in the new city apportioned among the Departments were 
as follows: State Department, 8 clerks; Treasury Department, 75; War 
Department, 17; Navy Department, 16; and Post-Office Department, 10, 
making in all 126 clerks. The total sum paid in salaries in that year 
was $125,881. 

The population of this city was estimated to be about 3,000. The 
statistics show that on May 15, 1800; there were 109 brick and 253 
framed houses in the city. One gentleman describing it said: " It is the 
best city in the world for a future residence." 

And he added: "We want nothing here but houses, cellars, kitchens, 
well-informed men, amiable women, and other little trifles of this kind 
to make our city perfect. ' ' 

Although this description was given to the public, we are not informed 
that anyone made protest against the classification of well-informed men 
and amiable women with cellars and kitchens, and the characterization 
of all of them as small trifles. Another gentleman, writing to his friend, 
announced that he was thoroughly .reconciled to the change from Phila- 
delphia to Washington. He said: 

' ' Provisions are plenty, good enough, and cheaper than in Philadelphia. 
You can buy a peck of field strawberries for a 5 -penny bit, and garden 
at 1 1 cents a quart. Vegetation is at least two weeks earlier than in 



Exercises at the Capitol. 105 

Philadelphia. The situation is beautiful, and this season is extremely 
pleasant. For myself I do not regret the removal." 

It is a matter of some regret that this writer of history did not tell us 
whether it was because strawberries were earlier and cheaper here, or 
because the situation was more beautiful and the climate more salubrious 
than in Philadelphia, that he was constrained not to regret the transfer. 

The removal was an epoch in the life of the young nation. It was 
somewhat akin to that interesting and highly important event in the life 
of the youthful bride and groom when they choose their home and settle 
down permanently under their own roof-tree to fight the battle of life 
and work out their destiny. We know that the actors in this removal 
came hither with a resolute will to lay broad and deep the foundations 
of the republic which is to endure while time lasts; a republic which 
rests upon the Declaration of 1776 and the sublime principle it happily 
inculcates, that governments are instituted among men to secure certain 
unalienable rights, the chiefest of which are life, liberty, and happiness, 
and that they derive their just powers from the consent of the governed; 
a republic the asylum for the oppressed of all nations; a republic the 
counselor, guide, and model of lovers of liberty everywhere; a republic 
the friend and wellwisher of all nations, the ally of none. 

They came to build a city not only beautiful to look upon and delight- 
ful to reside in, but which for works of art shall surpass Rome herself; 
for universities, colleges, and other educational opportunities shall equal 
the capital of the German Empire; and in all things that go to make 
a capital lovely, charming, and attractive to the eye, shall outstrip the 
renowned city of France. 

At the date of this removal the limits of our country were exceed- 
ingly narrow. The Mississippi River was the western boundary, and we 
had no outlet on the south to the Gulf. The young nation was then 
hemmed in on the north by the Great Lakes and on the east by the 
Atlantic Ocean, of all of which England was the proud master; by 
the Mississippi on the west, beyond which lay the possessions of France, 
the strongest power of Europe. Those possessions were then— 

A solitude of vast extent, untouched 
By hand of art; where nature sowed herself 
And reaped her crops. 

On the south Spain held the territory between us and the Gulf. 
Within these narrow limits the young nation was held and confined like 
a caged lion when the fierce contest came for supremacy in the Union 
between the two great political parties of that date, the Republican under 
Jefferson and Madison, and the Federalist under Adams and Hamilton. 
This contest was raging with bitterness during the year 1800, and reached 
a climax on March 4, 1801, in the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as 
the third President of the United States. The removal was within less 
than a twelvemonth from the death of Washington, the hero, warrior, 



106 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

and patriot of the Revolution. The country had not been able to recover 
from the shock and had not had time to react from the period of sadness 
and gloom caused by the intelligence of his death, which had not only 
sent a thrill of emotion throughout the length and breadth of America, 
but in whose honor the mighty fleets of England lowered their uncon- 
quered flag, and in whose memory the young soldier of France, then 
in the first flush of his glory, ordered his victorious standards veiled in 
crape. 

The archives and general offices of the Government having been 
removed to this city in May, on November 17, 1800, the Congress met 
in Washington for the first time, and assumed the exclusive control of 
the city and the District of Columbia. Brig. Gen. James Wilkinson 
was the commander of the United States Army. Oliver Ellsworth was 
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. John Adams, though recently 
defeated for reelection, was President, and in his annual message to 
Congress gave especial emphasis to the importance of the removal hence 
of the capital and the founding of the city of Washington. He uttered 
a deeply impressive and profoundh 7 beautiful invocation for the pros- 
perity and well-being of the city and its inhabitants. He said : 

' ' May this territory be the residence of virtue and happiness. In this 
city ma}' that piety and virtue, that wisdom and magnanimity, that con- 
stancy and self-government which adorned the great character whose 
name it bears be forever held in veneration. Here and throughout our 
country may simple manners, pure morals, and true religion flourish 
forever. ' ' 

Addressing himself to the Congress, he added : 

"You will consider it as the capital of a great nation, advancing with 
unexampled rapidity in arts, in commerce, in wealth, and in population, 
and possessing within itself those energies and resources which, if not 
thrown away or lamentabty misdirected, will secure to it a long course 
of prosperity and self-government." 

The President and the Congress expressed regret that Washington 
did not live to enjoy having his sum of earthly happiness made complete 
by seeing the Government peaceably convened at Washington City. 
The present Chief Executive of the nation, who, I have already stated, 
honors this occasion by his presence, in his annual message in December, 
1898, discussing this anniversary, said : 

' ' The original plans of the city of Washington have been wrought 
out with a constant progress and a signal success even beyond anything 
their framers could have foreseen. The people of the country are justly 
proud of the distinctive beaut}' and government of the capital, and of the 
rare instruments of science and education which here find their natural 
home. ' ' 

We stand to-day one hundred years from the date of the removal of 
the capital to this city. Within this period what phenomenal develop- 



Exercises at tlic Capitol. 107 

ment of our country has been witnessed. Our population has increased 
from about 5,000,000 to over 76,000,000. Our wealth as a nation has 
enhanced to more than $90,000,000,000, making us the richest in the 
world. Products of our mines and manufactures exceed those of any 
other land or people. Our laboring classes are blessed with more com- 
forts and with fairer prospects for themselves and their children than 
they have ever elsewhere been blessed. Our commerce has flourished 
most abundantly, and a widespread well-being has richly rewarded the 
industry of the nation. The number of the States has increased from 
16 to 45 and the people have multiplied fifteenfold. Our territory has 
been added to until from about 900,000 square miles in 1800 our area, 
including Alaska, is more than 3,500,000 square miles, to say nothing 
of our possibilities in another hemisphere. The desert has been made to 
bloom into a garden, towns and cities have sprung up all over our Union 
like the famed palaces of Aladdin, and all the discoveries of science have 
been as genii of the. lamp to our people. Along the lines of invention 
and progress which intimately affect the life and civilization of the world, 
triumphs have been achieved and wonders accomplished, the equal, if 
not the superior, of all the former centuries combined. The numberless 
material and intellectual achievements have contributed in many marvel- 
ous ways to the magical advancement and real comfort of the human 
race. And on and on, forever and forever, we are destined to go, each 
decade of years bringing new and larger blessings to humanity. 

May we not conclude that the prayer of President Adams has been 
most generously answered? Comparing this capital, our capital, with 
that of any other country, may we not boast that it is the abode of virtue 
and happiness, that it holds in veneration that piety and virtue, that 
wisdom and magnanimity, that constancy and self-government which 
adorned the great character whose name it bears? 

On this happy occasion, with all these felicitous surroundings, let us 
renew his invocation, and with especial emphasis pray God that not only 
in this beautiful capital, but that throughout the length and breadth of 
the Union, simple manners, pure morals, arid true religion may forever 
flourish; that our glorious Republic shall continue its advance in arts, 
in commerce, in wealth, and in population; and that it will never discard 
nor throw, away those energies and resources, those unique and peculiar 
characteristics, which so distinguish it from other nations of the earth, 
and which secure and guarantee to us unsurpassed strength, unrivaled 
happiness, and unequaled prosperity. 

The presiding officer then introduced the Hon. Sereno B. 
Payne, a Representative from the State of New York, the 
subject of whose address was the "Establishment of the Seat 
of Government in the District of Columbia." 



108 Establisliment of the Seat of Government. 

ADDRESS OF HON. SORENO E. PAYNE. 

Mr. President: On the occasion of the first general debate that I 
ever heard in Congress I was surprised to see that the first speaker pre- 
sented the facts in the case and those who followed upon the same side 
merely elaborated. Now, should it happen that I refer to any fact 
alluded to by the first speaker on this occasion, I hope you will not take 
it for granted that I have fallen into this bad habit, but that I am 
simply following the subject given by the committee, and which seems 
to run somewhat in the same line. 

The establishment of the seat of government in the District of Colum- 
bia is the work of more than a century. The causes that led up to it 
and the selection of a place that was almost a wilderness as the capital 
city of a great nation are unique in the history of the nations. Ancient 
capitals were each the seat of all that was best in literature and art. In 
later days London, Paris, and Berlin were cities foremost in commerce, 
population, and wealth long before the)' each became in turn the capital 
of a powerful nation. Our fathers located the seat of government in 
the open fields ' ' where the trees were yet growing and the streets 
unsurveyed. " Time has long since made it great in literature and art. 

If they had followed historic precedent, New York or Philadelphia 
would have been chosen. The former was great in population, in 
wealth, and in enterprise. It stood at the gatewa3^ of commerce, for- 
eign and domestic. It then gave promise of that which the closing 
century almost witnesses, an advance to the position of the first city in 
the world. The latter, situate on one of the natural highwa) r s of the 
country, near the center of population, was great in commercial and 
material things; but was far greater as the birthplace and cradle of 
American liberty. 

Each of these cities had in turn furnished a temporary seat of govern- 
ment for the federation of the States. Each had offered to donate suit- 
able grounds and buildings for the Federal house; an offer of no little 
consequence in view of our bankrupt treasury. 

Other cities — Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Princeton, Trenton, and 
Annapolis — had furnished a temporary refuge to the Continental Con- 
gress in the varying vicissitudes of the war, and each had its claim on 
the grateful patriotism of our people. Each of these cities had extended 
a hospitable welcome, and quickly matured plans to give to the Congress 
a permanent abiding place. 

After the close of the war, and as early as 1783, the discussion concern- 
ing a place for the permanent seat of government began. The people 
tired of a roving capital; indeed, all necessity for this had ceased; there 
was no longer danger of the capture of our lawmakers in any part of the 
"States." 

Looking back, after more than a century has passed, it is difficult to 



Exercises at the Capitol. 109 

realize the bitterness and acrimony of the debate. State after State 
came forward with the offer of a " suitable place. ' ' New York urged 
Kingston; Rhode Island, Newport; Maryland, Annapolis; New Jersey, 
Trenton; and Virginia, Williamsburg; but Congress rejected all. Then 
it was that the cities of New York and Philadelphia offered buildings for 
a Federal house, and "Baltimore Town" proposed to erect such build- 
ings as the Government should require if assured that the capital would 
be located there. At least half of the thirteen States were pressing for 
the location of the capital within their own borders. 

In June, 1783, an incident happened in Philadelphia which caused not 
only the removal of Congress from that city, but doubtless destroyed all 
hope of locating the capital permanently in a large city. Some unpaid 
soldiers, who had become mutinous, threatened and insulted the Repre- 
sentatives in Congress. The local authorities failed to suppress the riot, 
and Congress in consequence beat a masterly but hasty retreat. 

In October of that year Elbridge Gerry offered a resolution to erect 
buildings for the use of Congress on either the Potomac or the Delaware 
River, provided a site suitable for a Federal city could be secured on 
either river. In April, 1784, this resolution was modified, providing for 
the erection of such buildings on both of the rivers. But this was all 
finally repealed on the -26th of April. In the following October Con- 
gress passed a resolution to select a place either in the State of New 
Jersey or in Maryland. The next day they appointed a committee to 
examine a site on the Delaware River, and soon thereafter another com- 
mittee ' ' to examine and report on a location at or near the lower falls of 
the Potomac." This committee discharged its duties, but years elapsed 
before Congress passed upon it. It was as difficult for Congress to make 
up its mind in those days on the location of the seat of government as it 
has been during the last decade to locate a site for one of our magnificent 
Government buildings in the city of Washington. The discussion con- 
tinued with no abatement of zeal and earnestness down to 1790. 

In the Constitutional Convention Mr. Madison moved to add to the 
enumerated powers of Congress a proposition, which was afterwards' 
molded into the provision as it now appears in the Constitution of the 
United States, giving to Congress the power ' ' to exercise exclusive 
legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding 10 
miles square) as may by cession of particular States and the acceptance 
of Congress become the seat of government of the United States. ' ' At 
the first session of Congress under the Constitution the subject of the 
establishment of a seat of government was undertaken in earnest; 

Mr. Scott,, of Pennsylvania, on the 27th of August, 1789, introduced 
a resolution that expresses briefly the considerations that were to control 
the location of the seat of government, viz: "That a permanent resi- 
dence ought to be fixed for the General Government of the United 
States at some convenient place as near the center of wealth, population, 



no Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

and extent of territo^ as may be consistent with convenience to the 
navigation of the Atlantic Ocean and have due regard to the particular 
situation of the Western country. ' ' We have no record of the debate in 
the Senate, but the debate in the House involved some curious features. 
It was urged in favor of immediate decision that the settling of the 
question of the capital would form a new bond of union. On the other 
hand, it was urged that such a course might start a question upon which 
the very existence and peace of the Union might depend. 

Fisher Ames doubted whether the Government could stand the shock 
of such a measure, which involved as many passions as the human heart 
could display. A motion to postpone the question to the next session 
was defeated, and it was made the order for September 3. New York 
and New England, in the meantime, and a portion of New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania, formed a combine in favor of " some convenient place on 
the east bank of the Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania." Mr. Lee, of Vir- 
ginia, offered a substitute providing for ' ' a place as nearly central as a 
convenient communication with the Atlantic Ocean and an eas} r access to 
the Western territory will permit. ' ' The southern members protested 
against the decision until North Carolina, with her five votes in the 
House and two in the Senate, should be admitted into the Union. The 
debate over these propositions was sectional and acrimonious. 

Apparently the question was regarded so important as to involve seri- 
ous menace to the Union. Mr. Madison opposed the Susquehanna as 
not navigable, and urged the importance of communication with the 
Western territory, alleging that by the Potomac the way to the West was 
more certain and convenient than the other, with wholly unobstructed 
communication with the sea. One of the unique speeches of the occasion 
was by Mr. Vining, of Delaware, who said: "I confess to the House and 
to the world that, viewing this subject with all its circumstances, I am in 
favor of the Potomac. I wish the seat of government fixed there because 
I think the interest, the honor, and the greatness of this country require 
it. I look on it as the center from which those streams are to flow 
that are to animate and invigorate the body politic. From thence, it 
appears to me, the rays of government will most naturally diverge to the 
extremities of the Union. I declare that I look on the Western territory 
in an awful and striking point of view. To that region the unpolished 
sons of earth are flowing from all quarters, men to whom the protection 
of the laws and the controlling force of the Government are equally 
necessary. From this great consideration I conclude that the banks of 
the Potomac are the proper station." 

This, as a sample of buncombe oratory, has seldom been surpassed in 
Congress since' that day. As the debate waxed warmer it became more 
acrimonious. Mr. Lee, of Virginia, said: "If it should now be found 
that confederacies of States east of Pennsylvania were formed, to unite 
their councils for their particular interests, disregarding the Southern 



Exercises at the Capitol. in 

States, they would be alarmed, and the faith of all south of the Potomac 
would be shaken. Virginia had not solicited Congress to place the seat 
of government in her State, only contending that the interests of the 
Southern and Western country should be consulted;" and he declared 
' ' that these interests would be sacrificed if Congress fixed on any place 
but the Potomac." 

Mr. Madison said that ' ' if the declarations and proceedings of this day 
had been brought into view in the convention of Virginia which adopted 
the Federal Constitution, he firmly believed Virginia might not have 
been a part of the Union at this moment." Mr. Sedgwick asked " if it 
was contended that the majority should not govern? Are we to be told 
that an important State would not have joined the Union had they 
known what would have been the proceedings in this House?" Mr. 
Madison replied that all he asked was time for free deliberation. ' ' While 
I acknowledge that the majority ought to govern, they have no authority 
to debar the minority from the constitutional right of free debate." 

This induced Mr. Ames to say that the House was ready to vote, and 
that while he had no doubt of the patriotism and good intentions of the 
gentlemen from Virginia, they seem to be engaged with a degree of 
eagerness which none else seemed to feel. They seemed to think the 
banks of the Potomac a paradise, and that river an Euphrates. Mr. Burke, 
of South Carolina, charged that a league had been formed between the 
Northern States and Pennsylvania. 

Mr. Fitzsimmons, of Pennsylvania, denied this, as did also Mr. Wads- 
worth, of Connecticut, who said he did not dare to go to the Potomac; 
he feared that the whole of New England would consider the Union as 
destroyed. 

The matter going over to the following day, Mr. Madison again urged 
the importance of a central location. He said: "If it were possible to 
promulgate our laws by some simultaneous operation, it would be of less 
consequence where the Government might be placed; but if time is nec- 
essary for this purpose, we ought, as far as possible, to put every part 
of the community on a level." 

If Mr. Madison had lived a century later he would have witnessed the 
instantaneous communication of the doings of Congress to all parts of 
the country, and might not have urged with such vehemence the selec- 
tion of a " central location ' ' on the banks of the Potomac. 

Finally the House adopted a resolution authorizing the President to 
appoint three commissioners to locate the most eligible situation on the 
Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania. 

The Senate by a tie vote, Vice-President Adams giving the deciding 
vote in the affirmative, located the permanent capital in a district of ten 
miles square at Germantown, Pa. Subsequently in the House the Sen- 
ate's amendment was agreed to with an amendment continuing the laws 
of Pennsylvania in force within the ceded district until Congress should 



ii2 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

otherwise provide. This amendment, which was unnecessary from every 
point of view, took the bill back to the Senate for concurrence, and as 
only one day remained in the Senate the bill finally failed for want of 
action. This measure was not revived afterwards, and it was only this 
narrow chance that prevented Germautown, instead of Washington, from 
becoming the Federal city. 

In July, 1790, the act was finally passed that gave to Washington the 
sole power to select the Federal Territory, "not exceeding 10 miles 
square on the river Potomac, at some space between the mouth of the 
Eastern Branch and the Conococheague, for the permanent seat of gov- 
ernment of the United States. ' ' This new seat was to be ready for use 
in 1800, and during the meantime the "Federal Town" was to be 
Philadelphia. 

But this site was not selected without much tribulation. When the 
District of Columbia was chosen , North Carolina had come into the Union 
and cast her votes for the proposition. But even then the measure 
would have failed but for the political shrewdness of Hamilton and Jef- 
ferson. The former had brought forward his great measure of finance 
for the assumption by the nation of the debts incurred by the several 
States in maintaining the Revolutionary war, amounting to $20,000,000. 
The bill had been defeated in the House, after a fierce struggle, by an 
overwhelming vote, and Hamilton, believing that the very existence of 
the Union depended upon the reconsideration and passage of this crown- 
ing work of his financial greatness and statesmanship, was making 
strenuous endeavors to accomplish that result. Virginia and the South 
had voted against it. Hamilton proposed a compromise. Jefferson 
should help pass the assumption act, and Hamilton, as a quid pro quo, 
should bring over enough votes to put through the act locating the seat 
of government on the Potomac. How this was brought about let Jeffer- 
son tell in his own words : 

" I proposed to him (Mr. Hamilton) to dine with me the next day, 
and I would invite another friend or two and bring them into conference 
together, and I thought it impossible that reasonable men, consulting 
together coolly, could fail, by some mutual sacrifices of opinion, to form 
a compromise which would save the Union. The discussion took place. 
It was finally agreed that, whatever importance had been attached to 
the rejection of this proposition, the preservation of the Union and of 
concord among the States was more important, and that therefore it 
would be better that the vote of rejection should be rescinded, to effect 
which some members should change their votes. 

' ' But it was observed that this pill would be peculiarly bitter to the 
Southern States, and that some concomitant measure should be adopted 
to sweeten it a little to them. There had before been propositions to 
fix the seat of government either at Philadelphia or at Georgetown, on 
the Potomac, and it was thought by giving it to Philadelphia for ten 



Exercises at the Capitol. 113 

years arid to Georgetown permanently afterwards this might, as an 
anodyne, calm, in some degree, the ferment which might be excited by 
the other measure alone. So two of the Potomac members (White and 
Lee, but White with a revulsion of stomach almost convulsive) agreed 
to change their votes, and Hamilton undertook to carry the other point. 
In doing this the influence he had established over the Eastern members, 
with the agency of Robert Morris with those of the Middle States, 
effected his side of the engagement; and so the assumption act was 
passed, and twenty millions of stock divided among favored States and 
thrown in as a pabulum to the stockjobbing herd." 

This incident removes some of the glamour which time has thrown 
over the acts of the "fathers," and reveals them to us as human beings, 
no better than the politicians of to-day. Surely it is not the highest 
type of legislative integrity that characterizes this historical episode. It 
goes far to reconcile us to the definition of a statesman as being a poli- 
tician who is dead. But we can forgive this bit of "log rolling" when 
we reflect that it saved a threatened rupture of the Union. 

Washington acted promptly, and reported to Congress a location of 
the District as originally laid out, thereby exceeding the limits of the 
act of Congress by taking territory below the mouth of the Eastern 
Branch. Congress legalized this by a subsequent act of ratification. 
That Washington displayed his usual good judgment and foresight in 
the selection of the seat of government it is needless to say in this pres- 
ence. Our fathers ' ' took to the woods ' ' for a seat of government, but 
they laid the foundation for magnificent possibilities. 

The place was near the center of the population, stood at the head of 
navigation, and at what Washington believed to be the pathway to the 
West. It was his judgment that the commerce of the great Western 
territory would follow down and along the banks of the Potomac River 
to tide water at Georgetown, and thence on the river itself to the Atlantic 
Ocean. That this prophecy of his was not fulfilled has been the fault of 
the steam railway, supplanting the river and canal, and the more rapid 
development of the commerce of the Northwestern States, forcing other 
outlets to the sea. 

The original act referred to this territory as the ' ' Seat of Govern- 
ment. ' ' Washington called it the ' ' Federal City. ' ' But the commission 
which he appointed called it the "City of Washington, in the Territory 
of Columbia." Finally Congress named it the " District of Columbia." 

But this action of Congress did not place the matter beyond all question 
or dispute. Virginia voted $120,000 in money, and Maryland $72,000 
as a free gift toward the erection of buildings. The owners of the prop- 
erty in the District of Columbia conveyed all the streets and parks free 
and reserved one-half of the lots and granted the other half to the United 
States. These lots were offered for sale by the Government to raise the 
necessary funds to build the Government buildings. But the sales were 
H. Doc. 552 8 



ii4 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

slow and the money was not forthcoming. Washington applied to the 
State of Maryland for a loan. Maryland granted a loan of $100,000, but 
took good care to require the personal security of the commissioners of 
the District of Columbia. How vastly has our national credit improved 
in a hundred years! 

The commissioners employed Major l'Enfant, a French engineer and a 
friend of Jefferson, to lay out the city. He adopted the plan of Versailles, 
the seat of the Government of France, as a basis for his work. The 
admirable location of the Capitol and the White House is due to him. 
Fortunate would it have been had a Governor Shepherd been one' of the 
commissioners, as from his plan, developed a century later, all south of 
the Pennsylvania avenue to the Potomac River would have been a vast 
and beautiful park, while the Department buildings would have fronted 
this avenue from the north side. It was to the credit of this great 
engineer that it was nearly a century before any person ventured this 
suggestion as' an improvement on his original plan, and no other sub- 
stantial improvement has ever been suggested. 

Up to the war of 18 12 there was continued agitation for removal. The 
House of Representatives tired of crowding itself into the corridor of 
the Senate wing while the coordinate branch were housed magnificently 
in their own permanent chamber. It was not until the old House wing 
was completed in 1807 that this cause of complaint was removed. 

The city was dreary and desolate, the houses were poor and scattered, 
the streets and roadways were execrable. Not a street or public build- 
ing was finished, and the private houses were in similar condition. After 
the British had destroyed the Capitol, the Executive Mansion, the navy- 
yard, and many of the public buildings, the opposition to rebuilding in 
Washington was very emphatic. 

The debate occurred on a bill introduced in 18 15 authorizing the Presi- 
dent to borrow $500,000 to rebuild the public buildings. It was urged 
that Washington was a failure, badly located, not in the center of terri- 
tory or population, and too accessible to the sea to be defended in time 
of war. On the other hand, it was urged that it was ungracious toward 
Virginia and Maryland, the States that had contributed $200,000 
toward the buildings, that it was unjust to the people who had freely 
conveyed their real estate, and that it was cowardly to run away in the 
face of an enemy. The spirit of patriotism and good faith was appealed 
to, and the appeal was not in vain. The bill became a law, and with the 
rebuilding of the Government buildings the seat of government was 
finally established in the District of Columbia, and the building here of 
every Government building since, while it may have brought out discus- 
sion and adverse criticism, has only become another anchor to the good 
old ship of state in Washington harbor. 

The dream of George Washington is fast becoming reality. He looked 
upon the future capital as the center of art and learning. He looked 



Exercises at the Capitol. 115 

forward to a great city with beautiful avenues and streets, stately build- 
ings, classic and grand, worthy of the great Republic. All this has been 
realized. It takes no prophetic eye to see in Washington in the near 
future the queen capital city of all the nations of the earth, worthy of 
the great Republic. 

The crowning fact in reference to the seat of government in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia is that it is now established here for all time. Never 
will a. proposition for its removal again find favor in any quarter. Its 
foundations are laid here, as enduring as the everlasting hills. In the 
well-chosen words of the junior Senator from Missouri, it is and is to be 
the "eternal capital of an eternal Republic." 

The presiding officer next called upon the Hon. Louis E. 
McComas, a Senator from the State of Maryland, to deliver an 
address on the " History of the First Century of the National 
Capital." 

ADDRESS OF HON. LOUIS E. McCOMAS. 

Mr. President: One hundred years ago President Adams first visited 
Capitol Hill. From this eminence how different then the scene. 

Around him stood the primeval forest. Here and there were naked 
fields. Through the thick oak woods had been cleared the streets and 
avenues. 

On this hill stood the north wing of the Capitol. Near by was a 
tavern. On the Eastern Branch of the Potomac, then navigable, and 
near the Arsenal was the hamlet of Carrollsburg. Nearer this hill in 
the same forest was Law's famous mansion. At Greenleaf's Point on 
the river, west of Tiber Creek, were some straggling houses. 

About the new President's house clustered a few buildings; behind 
these wide marshes stretched away to the river. Across Rock Creek lay 
the Maryland village of Georgetown. 

At these four points, widely separated, were about six hundred houses. 
All else was marsh and field and forest. 

Such was — 

The young city round whose virgin zone 
The rivers like two mighty arms were thrown. 

Said Rochefoucauld, who visited it then: 

"It is in fact the grandeur and magnificence of the plan which ren- 
ders the conception no better than a dream." 

The bureau officials and the members of the Sixth Congress missed 
the comforts of Philadelphia. They discussed afresh the wisdom of 
moving the Capitol away from this village in the woods. 

Seven years before President Washington had laid the corner stone of 
this edifice. His new-made grave was on the west bank of the beautiful 
river, nearly opposite the Federal city which bore his name. The magic 
of that name now held the Capital in the village which bore it. 



n6 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Fourteen years after, on an August evening, President Madison stood 
on this hill. 

The British invader having set on fire the city had hurried away to 
the fleet. Yonder Madison saw the black, smoking ruins of the War and 
Treasury offices and of his own home, the Executive Mansion. At the 
navy-yard the dying fires lighted up the smoking hulls of the Argus and 
the new Essex. Here were the charred and blackened walls of the two 
wings of the new Capitol. 

Again the cry rose to remove the Capital. Congress borrowed a half 
million dollars to restore this unfinished structure, and the town slowly 
rose from its ashes. 

Faster grew the nation. The Federal city seemed asleep. 

The chief cities of the South advanced. The Eastern cities grew 
great. On the prairies, by the Western rivers, new cities sprang out of 
the ground while the nation was fast spreading westward over the conti- 
nent. Still the Federal city slept. 

Its seat was healthful, the climate was mild and agreeable the year 
round. The city was accessible. The great edifices of the Departments 
of Government were worthy of the nation, worthy of the magnificent 
plan of the city. Unhappily Washington was on the border between 
the free and the slave States. The long contest over slavery rendered 
the fate of the Union unsafe and made the future of the Federal city 
uncertain. 

During a generation the specter of disunion was a shadow upon the 
young city. Its growth was confined to the river basin, and did not 
extend east of the Capitol, where the founders designed the principal 
growth to be. Sixty years ago Washington was ' ' a large, straggling 
village reared in a drained swamp." 

Fifty-four years ago the wide boundaries marked by the men of the 
Revolution were contracted by the petty economists of the day. The 
lands west of the Potomac were retroceded to Virginia. President Polk 
and Congress lacked the historic foresight of the founders and forgot the 
future. 

Forty years ago 75,000 people lived here. Municipal improvements 
lagged. The grounds and public buildings were neglected by Congress, 
absorbed in discussing slavery and the fate of the Union. 

Dark seemed the future of the Union and darker still the future of 
Washington. 

This long and exciting period suggests the military and naval heroes, 
the orators, statesmen, and jurists whose fame belongs rather to the 
country than to Washington. 

Yet eminent names survive notable men whose life's work localized 
them here. Thomas Ritchie, Francis P. Blair, Joseph Gales, and W. W. 
Seaton, in journalism, won their fame as Washington editors. In sci- 
ence Peirce, Hilgard, Bache, Henry, and Baird; in letters Peter Force, 



Exercises at the Capitol. 117 

Joel Barlow, and George Bancroft lived and labored here. Pulpit orators 
of note, lawyers of eminence, were here in numbers. The most beautiful 
gallery of fine arts on the continent is here, the chief benefaction of 
W. W. Corcoran, the Washington philanthropist whose name it bears. 

The cloud of civil war was fast gathering and it broke over the unfin- 
ished Dome of this Capitol. Instantly Washington became the focus of 
the world's interest, the object of our people's solicitude, the center of 
our national life. 

These streets thronged with civilians and volunteer soldiers. These 
avenues resounded with the tramp of marching regiments, the clangor of 
cavalry hoofs and sabers, the rumbling of artillery, or echoed the shrill 
martial music or the funeral dirge. Schoolhouses and churches became 
hospitals. Army wagons were parked in the vacant squares. Barracks 
and camps filled the public parks. Forts and breastworks sprang out of 
the adjacent fields and crowned the hills on either side of the Potomac. 
Here President Lincoln reviewed armies of the Union and later saw the - 
capital a fortress assailed by an invading army. He was sustained by 
the hope he expressed on the portico of this Capitol in his first inaugural 
address, an unfaltering faith that the mystic chords of memory, stretch- 
ing from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and 
hearthstone all over this broad land, would yet swell the chorus of the 
Union when again touched by the better angels of our nature. 

Soon after there came two beautiful May days when the national flag 
was flying from every housetop and window, when from this Capitol to 
the Treasury, marching along the Avenue in columns of companies, 
there passed in grand review the brave armies of Sherman and Grant. 
Taking their horses with them, as Grant had told them they should, 
the gallant soldiers of Johnson and Lee had gone home for the spring 
plowing, to put out a crop in the wasted fields of war. And the 
harvest was peace. 

When the battle flags were furled in Washington, when the forts 
around it were razed, the streets of the city were deep in mud or 
clouded with dust. The vacant lands were morasses. Beyond Tiber 
Creek and the bed of the abandoned canal, out amid the marshes, stood 
a marble monument half built. 

Beyond it was the river on whose farther bank still reposed the ashes 
of the founder of this city. This unfinished column of marble, its com- 
memorative purpose seemingly forgot, stood there — a pathetic reminder 
that President Washington's design of a Federal city was yet unfulfilled. 

The day of its fulfillment had dawned. At once the restored Union 
began to move swiftly forward to its foremost place among nations. 
The shadows vanished from Washington. The growth of its capital 
kept step with the rapid growth of the Republic. 

Governor Shepherd and the Commissioners and Congress took from 
the wall the dusty map of 1' Enfant and Ellicott, impressed its outlines 



n8 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

on marsh, on hill, on woodland, and, under the cloudless sky, out of 
the fresh earth the new Washington rose ' ' as from the stroke of the 
enchanter's wand." 

In the paved streets and avenues decorated with nomes and churches 
which are triumphs of architecture; in the open areas bright with 
flowers and fountains; in the circles and parks adorned with statuary 
and monuments of our heroes on land and sea, of men of science and 
letters, of our statesmen and jurists; in the long succession of stately 
public buildings; in the gorgeous Congressional Library, worthy man- 
sion of letters; in yonder monument to the father of his country, "the 
marble column sublime in its simple grandeur;" in this Capitol, on 
whose first corner stone the founder of the city laid his hand, this 
already the noblest structure in the world, yet destined to be fairer 
within and grander without — in all these crowning glories of the fairest 
of all cities, our countrymen acclaim Washington their Delphi, their 
Mecca. 

We cherish it, not for the beauty of the now populous city alone, but 
by a common sympathy that draws all Americans to this spot dedicated 
to the Republic. Each generation has added new interests which touch 
the imagination, new historic associations which stir American pride. 
Washington is linked with the memories of the wise and valiant of our 
race and blood now departed. 

We love it for the great events and the great virtues of which it has 
been the theater. We love it for its part in a century of our history, 
that epic of our nation's life whose great transactions, starting hope- 
fully with President Adams, closing gloriously with President McKinley, 
have centered the eyes of the world on us here. 

The presiding officer then introduced Hon. John W. Daniel, 
a Senator from the State of Virginia, to address the conven- 
tion on "The Future of the United States and its Capital." 

ADDRESS OF HON. JOHN W. DANIEL. 

Mr. President : Ancient history had no precedent for the United States 
of America, and modern history has no parallel. A new land, a new peo- 
ple, a new principle of government, a clean slate for the refiguring of old 
problems, leisure and liberty to revise, correct, and expurgate old editions 
of civilization and originate new ones — these were the rare conditions that 
initiated the new deal for human rights and fortunes. The Anglo-Saxon 
was forehanded, prepotent, paramount, and ascendant. He outfigured, 
outworked, and outfought all rivals. To his side he beckoned all men 
. as brethren, and all types of men came trooping from the four corners 
of the earth to share his winnings. In freer spirit and in higher hopes 
they cast new patterns for themselves and for other nations. 

If we are a greater England, we are also a greater Ireland, a greater 
Scotland, and a greater Wales; a greater Denmark, Norway, and Swe- 




§p*%, t I 



1 1 1 i 
#i | i i 



Congress House, Baltimore, Mil. The second 
National Capitol. 



Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. 
First meeting place of Congress. 




The old Court-House. York, Pa. The third 
National Capitol. 



Statehonse, Philadelphia, Pa. The first National Capitol. 

BUILDINGS USED FOR EARLY CONGRESSES. 
From Harper's Weekly, by permission. 



I'opyi-iirWt. r.'UO. by Harper & Brothe 



Exercises at the Capitol. 1 1 9 

den; a greater Netherlands, a greater Germany, a greater Greece and 
Rome, and a greater Jerusalem; a greater everybody, bearing, indeed, 
the Anglo-Saxon birthmark, but fused into a new, original, and composite 
national character. 

' ' Great races are made of the mixture of races, like the beautiful 
bronzes which are composed of man}' metals." The brightest and 
bravest blood of the world's great races is mixed in the American. 

The Roman augur looked to the West to catch in the reflected light 
of the upper sky the first flush of the coming dawn. So look we to the 
past of our country for the omens of its brilliant future. The United 
States contains the most diversified and assimilative elements that ever 
composed a great nation. Our domain is the best located. We have 
the most compact, the most convenient and symmetrical, of all the seats 
of great nations. We are the most defensible of nations. North and 
south of us are friends from whom there is nothing to fear. East and 
west the everlasting seas are moats of our battlements. 

Within our borders are all the elements of human sustenance and 
national greatness. Our forests would build homes for the world to live 
in; our coal would run its machinery, warm its firesides, and cook its 
food; our iron, lead, copper, and zinc would supply its furnaces; our 
granite and marble would build its temples. From our woods, fields, 
fisheries, orchards, and gardens we could set a feast that would turn 
Lucullus green with envy; and dinner over, the world could quaff our 
wines, fill its cups with our coffee, sweeten it with our sugar, regale its 
fancies on our tobacco, and light itself to bed with our oil. If never 
another man or another thing were landed on our shores, we could wax 
strong, adorn our homes with finest art, and multiply and replenish the 
earth with the overrunnings of our richness. 

We have risen to greatness more rapidly than ever arose a great nation. 
Our ascendancy is less endangered from without than was ever that of a 
great nation. We have outrun the prophecies of our progenitors and 
surpassed the ideals of our founders. Our development has been the 
epic of human progress. It has made poetry of statistics and glorious 
romance of history. It has left the dreams of optimists as faded specters 
in the rear of achievement. Our longevity projects itself to the farthest 
reach of human speculation, and the future is gorgeous with every sign 
of hope and courage. 

Our people understand each other better than they have ever done. 
Consequently they have more hearty feelings of friendship and sympa- 
thy for each other than they ever had. At home and abroad the 
principles and the flag of the American Union were never more respected. 
We are the most thoroughly unified of the great nations. In this build- 
ing the differences of forty-five Commonwealths and 76,000,000 people 
conie to the mill to be ground out. The whirr of the grinding is great 
and might make the impression that our differences are also great. 



120 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

But be not deceived. Our States are as much alike in their forms of 
government as the leaves of a tree. Our people are alike in their lan- 
guage, their laws, their usages, and their aspirations. Our political 
clocks all keep the same time — that is to say, after election — Washing- 
ton time. Our differences are only the natural and just differences that 
must ever arise from locality and individualism. Instead of rebuking 
them we should be thankful for them. They are sincere and unavoida- 
ble. They are the processes of Providence, which out of difference 
molds higher uniformity, and out of conflict produces the best resultant 
force. When the grinding of opinion is over, all partake at a common 
table of the same bread. After all it is only differences that come here. 
Our similitudes, which are as a myriad to one difference, are quiescent, 
and comparing them we should not forget that ' ' a single grasshopper 
under a fence makes more noise than a thousand cattle reposing in the 
shade. ' ' 

We are the strongest of nations. So far, with onlj r the phantom of a 
regular army as a nucleus of education, our wars have been fought for 
the most part by the volunteer citizen soldiery. They have never failed 
to cope successfully with the trained bands of Europe. To-day at the 
tap of a drum ten millions would swarm to the national defense, and to 
a foreign foe our seacoasts would become — 

Looming bastions fringed with fire. 

There can be no disparagement of our regulars, but against the soldier 
of any age or any country we might place with confidence the American 
volunteer. 

There is an army in our country grander than any every mustered on 
the field of Mars. In line it would stretch over 5,000 miles. It is the 
conscript and volunteer school children of the United States, over six- 
teen millions strong. It is the embryo of the mightiest civilized force 
ever organized by any people. Woe be unto him who sows in these 
young souls any unworthy thought. When this army deplo\-s in action, 
may it fly the banners of truth and liberty and carry in their hearts love 
of their countrymen and their fellow-men, the onl}' patriotism that is 
not sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. 

The experience of over a century has exhibited the strength of our 
electoral institutions. We are as strong within as without. In the first 
inaugural address delivered in this city on the 4th of March, 1801, 
Thomas Jefferson said: 

"Strangers, unused to think freely and speak what they think, might 
be imposed on by the animation of our discussions and exertions, but 
the contest of opinion being decided by the voice of the nation and 
announced according to the rules of the Constitution, all will, of course, 
arrange themselves under the will of the law and unite in common effort 
for the common good." 

I believe with him that this is "the strongest government on 



Exercises at the Capitol. 121 

earth." I believe with him, also, that "this is the one nation where 
every man according to the law would fly to the standard of the law and 
would meet invasion of the law as his own personal concern. ' ' 

When he thus spoke our self-government was yet an experiment. It 
is now a consummation. We might repeat his admonition: 

' ' Sometimes it is said that man can not be trusted with the govern- 
ment of himself. Can he then be trusted with the government of others? 
Or have we found angels in the form of kings to govern him? Let 
history answer this question. ' ' 

The history of a hundred years has answered it. Compare the men 
whom the people have chosen as Presidents with an equal number of 
hereditary monarchs of any other nation, and self-government in com- 
parison finds its incarnate vindication. This is the only great nation 
that ever passed through its formative conflicts without inflicting in a 
single case the penalty of death for a political cause. Does not this fact 
alone speak volumes for free thought, for free speech, for the govern- 
ment of the people, and for the high character of the American people? 

If we have had strife, it has been the proud and lofty strife of the 
brave and the true who can cherish honor, who can cherish principle, can 
cherish love, but can not cherish hate. And be this never forgotten, 
that our only strife was over the heritage which empire foisted upon our 
ancestors against their will and which the Republic has removed forever. 
And that Republic stands at the dawn of a new century with every son 
•a free man under its flag and ready to defend it. 

' ' I am an American ' ' means more to-day than it has ever meant, for 
if all the nations were arranged in line, each represented by one typical 
man, the American man would stand at the head of the line, the tallest, 
the straightest, the brawniest, the most practical-minded, and biggest- 
hearted of them all. 

We are the foremost nation of the world. We are the light and hope 
of the world. It is our freedom that has made us gentle, and gentleness 
has made us great. 

Race problem, Philippine problem, trust problem — what will you do 
with them? This is not the time, nor am I here to answer. We may 
well view these and other problems with deep solicitude and anxious 
reflection. But if our problems be mighty, they grow out of our might 
and have the mighty to deal with them. They come to those who have 
never been confounded by problems and have never dodged one; who 
have solved problems just as great and some greater than any now 
presented, and have left them all behind with monuments of their solution 
builded over them. 

When John Smith and his little band sailed into James River in 1607, 
a flight of arrows in their faces arrested attention to the greatest and 
deadliest of race problems. There are as many Indians on the American 
continent now as there were then, but where is the race problem of 1607? 



122 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The London company, syndicate, or trust, sent these settlers nere and 
it ordered everything. It called a legislature at Jamestown in 1619, and 
in 1624 that legislature said: 

This people will pay no tax save as this assembly shall appoint. 

One hundred and fifty years afterwards that principle became the 
corner stone of this nation. Bills of rights and free constitutions cover 
the country. But what has become of the London company ? The king 
gone, the Indian gone, the tea tax gone, the stamp tax gone, and the 
London company, too — gone, all gone! But the American is here, and 
from ocean to ocean not an acre but a free acre, not a man but a free 
man, and all ancient problems but fireside tales. Behind our new prob- 
lems marches the broader and better Republic. In the words of an illus- 
trious American, " It is history that teaches man to hope." No human 
history burns with so high and bright a hope as that of the United States 
of America. 

We have been a world power ever since we tied taxation and represen- 
tation together and identified in one community the taxlayer and the 
taxpayer. It was out of that germ that arose our free Constitution. 
Wherever it is found, a free constitution would grow out of it. It has 
quickened the republican movement around the globe. It has brought 
us the homage not only of the downtrodden who welcomed its delivering 
hand, but as well that of the powerful who heeded not its forewarnings. 

But yesterday an English statesman, a former prime minister, declared 
that had not the elder Pitt left the House of Commons for the peerage, 
he would have induced the English King to admit the American people 
to representation in Parliament; and he fancies that then the Crown 
itself and all its belongings would some day have migrated to this coun- 
try, leaving the British islands as the European outposts of a world 
empire. The world empire, under any crown, is the fading dream of 
humanity. The world republic is the ever brightening and growing 
dream. It is not likely that any crown will ever come to this land of 
ours, but our constitutional system, with the people sovereign and hold- 
ing in their hands the purse and the sword, can go anywhere or every- 
where if right and justice and wisdom lead the way. 

Eighteen sister Republics of America have patterned on its example. 
Our Monroe doctrine has said to the monarchies, "Touch them not;" 
and the world republic, not the world empire, is the vision that grows 
more and more distinct as we go spinning ' ' through the ringing grooves 
of change." This land is already the radiant center of Anglo-Saxon 
power. It is also the radiant center of that vision. We will cleave to 
the principle that conjured it. It is brighter than crowns. It is stronger 
than scepters. It is higher than thrones. It is longer ranged than can- 
non. It is sharper than swords and bayonets. It is more august than 
an army with banners. It marches while armies sleep. It conquers 
where armies fall. It floats where navies sink. It is the shield of the 



Exercises at the Capitol. 123 

weak. It is the glory of the strong. It is the riches of the poor. It 
is the faith and hope and uplift of the oppressed. It is subtler than 
policy. It is right, and it is the destiny of nations. 

As our country moves to speed that destiny, it will carry the future of 
Washington City with it. Our fathers brought the Federal Government 
here in 1S00, and dedicated this spot as "the eternal capital of the 
eternal Republic." And the capital and the Republic have grown with 
equal pace and their step has ever been forward. It was then a strag- 
gling village of 2,000 souls; it is now a magnificent metropolis of over 
200,000. The Republic of 5,000,000 people and 16 States then rested its 
western boundary on the Mississippi River, its southern on the northern 
line of Florida. It has now 76,000,000 people and 45 States, and our 
continental boundaries are the Pacific Ocean, Mexico, and the Gulf of 
Mexico. We have multiplied our States threefold, our territory nearly 
fourfold, and our population in the ratio of 16 to 1. This is a statistical 
fact, not a financial statement. Our center of population was then near 
Baltimore, Md. It is now near Columbus, Ind., and is still traveling 
west "to grow up with the country." 

To my mind this capital city of the Republic is the city unique and 
beautiful. Other nations have fixed their capitals in the crowded urban 
centers of commerce, and they possess the splendors that opulence has 
gathered around them. Our capital, like our nation, was made to sub- 
serve a principle, and it has grown up in the midst of the mementoes 
and associations of the principle which it represents. Its broad avenues 
intersecting its regular squares; its frequent reservations of grass and 
flowers and fountains; its parks and trees; its substantial business houses 
and sightly dwellings; its schools, colleges, universities, galleries, and 
museums; its monuments and public buildings; its noble river and pictur- 
esque landscape; its integral effect upon the eye, with the apex of the 
Washington Monument piercing the sky on the one side and this noble 
pile lifting its dome on the other — these things make Washington City a 
nobler panorama and more inspiring contemplation than are afforded by 
any other city in the world. 

"The United States will live; and with them Washington will live, 
expanding, multiplying, beautifying, enlightening, with every turn of 
the prodigious wheel of which it is the axle. Plans for its improve- 
ment abound. One contemplates the erection here of the Halls of the 
Ancients, where the eye may behold revived the architectural creations 
of bygone nations. Another would produce on some expansive field a 
miniature of the United States of America, showing in the earth itself 
the delineations and undulations of our national topography. These and 
kindred schemes are well worthy of consideration; but the essential must 
come first. Washington needs, and the people of the whole country 
needs, fitting outlets for the new railroads that press for admission, and 
bridges which will span the Potomac and connect the city with the 



124 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

military post, the agricultural station, and the beautiful cemetery at 
Arlington. 

More public buildings are needed by both the District and the Federal 
Governments. All will be gratified to know that the White House is 
to be enlarged for the more suitable accommodation of the President in 
the exercise of the official and hospitable functions incumbent on the Chief 
of our multitudinous people ; and all will wish the present occupant 
that happiness which he would if he could bestow on every one of them. 
No less pressing are the needs of the many Departments. This Govern- 
ment should not be forced, as it has been and is now, to rent rooms 
like a transient visitor, nor to put its public servants in dingy lodgings 
like postponed claimants. 

It is planned for the ages and it should reside in habitations adapted 
to health and comfort and becoming to its character. Whatever we do 
in building should be the best of its kind in plan, in material, and in 
execution. All our public buildings should be of the noble classic design 
worked out by American architects according to the diversities of Ameri- 
can genius. As this Capitol building, rising in white and soaring 
majesty, speaks to the heavens and to the earth, as it were, in manifes- 
tation of its office, so should every public building established here ex- 
press to the beholder in every lineament of its structure the stability, the 
dignity, and grace of the American nation. 

And one public building above all others is needed here as the reflex 
of the peculiar genius of this people and of its supreme intellectual dis- 
tinction in a department where it surpasses all ancient and modern 
peoples. We are the most inventive of nations. The free intellect has 
been the most original and productive of all intellects. Other nations 
have surpassed us in literature and the fine arts, but in inventive and 
useful arts the United States is far transcendant. The Patent Office, 
established by Thomas Jefferson and protecting for a brief period the 
ov\y constitutional monopoly, the right to the exclusive enjoyment of 
one's original ideas, is the crown of American intellectual supremacy 
over the material world, even as the Constitution of the United States is 
the crown of political architecture and the Union itself the crowning 
glory of our people. 

As Francis Bacon says, "The sciences dwell sociably together," and 
we should put on Capitol Hill, facing the Senate Hall, as a companion 
piece to the exquisite Library building now facing the Hall of Repre- 
sentatives, another building of like architecture. And the American 
capitol of letters should have by its side the American capitol of invent- 
ive art, both facing this capitol of the people, where their sovereignty' 
has its highest exemplification. In that hall should be displayed the 
evolutions of inventions, with every invention indicated by its model, 
inclusive of the last improvement. It would be the greatest college of 
applied science that the world has ever seen; a monument to and a 



Exercises at the Capitol. 125 

stimulus to invention, and leading by gradations to those truths of science 
which hover over the threshold of the age, "waiting to be caught." 

It was the mariner's needle that discovered America, for the inventor 
made the discoverer possible; and inventive genius is that which is 
putting us ahead of all the nations. It is invention that manifolds the 
thoughts of the wise and scatters them in the humblest habitations. It 
is invention that has made the poor man's cottage gleam in cleanliness 
and beauty like the palace. It is invention that has, made circulating 
libraries and art galleries of our periodical literature. It is invention 
that forestalls the pestilence, extinguishes the conflagration, illuminates 
the darkness, makes the fountain to gush forth by the fireside and in the 
desert, eliminates distance, relieves the famine, and snatches the stricken 
of the battlefield from the jaws of destruction. It is invention that has 
made princes of the earth out of our merchants, manufacturers, and 
skilled workmen; that has given precedence to our products in all the 
marts of the world; that is pouring the golden horn of trade balance into 
our treasury chests and transforming us from a debtor to a creditor 
nation. 

It is invention that has made war so terrible that peace foresees its bed 
of repose at the mouth of the cobwebbed cannon. It is invention that is 
to lift our earthly being from poverty, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, 
visit the sick, unlock the bastiles, and open all the doors where lie the 
victims of hardship and bigotry and oppression. It is invention that has 
brought to manifest revelation the unity of the universe, the unity of 
man, the unity of life, the unity of soul, and thrown the very gates of 
immortality ajar by proving the perpetuity of pl^sical and moral force. 
It is invention that, whispering round the world, brings us in voice- 
touch and mind-touch with each other though thousands of miles apart, 
and that reminds us by its miracles as to the Author of our being that — 

Closer is He than breathing, 
And nearer than hands and feet. 

It is invention that will one day in the distant Aiden make the United 
States of the World fulfill the dream that now hovers over the United 
States of America. It is our high fancy that when that day comes the 
English languagewill be the universal language. Our Constitution will 
be the model of the universal constitution. The principle of the Declara- 
tion of Independence, that taxation and representation must go together, 
will be the universal principle. The flag of the stars will be blazoned 
with the constellation of the nations. Here will assemble the Parlia- 
ment of Man. The farthest star in the heavens will bear the name of 
Washington, and the city that now bears the founder's name will be the 
capital of the universal republic. 

The Presiding Officer then called upon the Hon. George F. 
Hoar, a Senator from the State of Massachusetts, to deliver 
the final address. 



126 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

ADDRESS OF HON. GEORGE F. HOAR. 

Mr. President: It is a hundred years since this city, planned by 
George Washington, became the seat of government. The site was 
chosen by the First Congress, in accord with the design of the framers 
of the Constitution. And yet we seem to-day to be still engaged in 
laying its foundations. The other great capitals of the world — Rome, 
London, Paris, Berlin, Edinburgh, Vienna — have their origin in a remote 
past. They not only embody the earliest authentic history of their 
countries, but their beginning is lost iii the darkness of antiquity or 
hidden in the mist of fable. Their early annals have perished in a 
deeper oblivion than that which covers the builders of the pyramids, 
which moved Sir Thomas Browne to his sublimest utterance: "History 
sinketh beneath her cloud. The traveler, as he paceth amazedly through 
these deserts, asketh of her, Who builded them? and she mumbleth 
something, but what it is he heareth not." 

But Washington is still in earliest youth. There are Americans living 
who were born before this citj' received its name. For the first fifty 
years and more, down to the end of the civil war, our frugal predecessors 
hardly expended enough to make it decently habitable. They expended 
nothing fo. its adornment, except the construction of this Capitol, which 
was not finished in its present condition until 1861. But, taking the 
century as a whole, certainly the American people have no reason to be 
ashamed of their city. 

It was on the border line between the two contending parties in the 
civil war. The fires of that might}* conflict burned here more fiercely 
and hotly than anywhere else. When peace came, Washington, like the 
whole country, felt the inspiration of the new era. 

Before, she like some shepherdess did show, 

Who sat to bathe her by a river's side; 
Not answering to her fame, but rude and low, 

Nor taught the beauteous arts of modern pride. 

Now, like a maiden queen, she will behold, 

From her high turrets, hourly suitors come; 
The east with incense, and the west with gold, 

Will stand, like suppliants, to receive her doom. 

I have spoken of the antiquity of European capitals. London has 
been a center of civilization for more than twelve hundred years. The 
House of Commons has existed for eight hundred. There has been a 
Bishop's Palace at Fulham more than a thousand. Paris has been a seat 
of government for thirteen centuries; Berlin for nearly four; Vienna for 
seven. And yet there are few places that can show for any one century 
more than three products of architecture that equal the Capitol, the 
Washington Monument, and the Congressional Library. If we can add 
to the glories of Washington three such structures only for each coming 
century, we need not be ashamed of comparison with any foreign city 
when Washington shall have reached the same age. Yet in 1800 we 




j 1 1 i-ip 

SSI II || | 



3*1 



. . . ••« - 



Nassau Hull, Princeton, N. J. The fourth 
National Capitol. 




The old Court-House, Trenton, N. J. The sixth 
National Capitol. 




; 




^ 



Statehouse, Annapolis, Md. The fifth National 
Capitol. 



Kroni Harper's Weekly, Ity pi 



Federnl Hall. New York. N. Y. The seventh National Capitol. 

BUILDINGS USED FOR EARLY CONGRESSES. 

Copyright, I'KH), l>y Harper & Brothers. 



Exercises at the Capitol. 127 

were a people of but 5,000,000. We are now 77,000,000. The popula- 
tion of this District is multiplied in larger proportions still. We shall 
deal with our metropolis in the coming centuries, as compared with that 
which has gone, with a liberality proportioned to our wealth, numbers, 
and power. If God spare the Republic, what may we not hope for 
Washington ? 

These three structures, unrivaled as they are, each in its respecrive 
class, are more interesting still for what they typify and stand for. The 
monument to the Father of the Country is but a simple shaft. It marks 
a narrow spot. It commemorates a single human character. But the 
spot it marks, as was said, Mr. President, by one of the most accomplished 
men who ever sat in your chair, " is a prime meridian. ' ' The prime 
meridian of universal longitude on sea or land may be at Greenwich or 
at Paris or where you will. But the prime meridian of pure, exalted, 
human character will be marked forever by yonder obelisk. Integrity 
and patriotism are to be measured by nearness to it or departure from it. 
Boastfulness, out of place everywhere, is a thousand times out of place 
when we speak of the modest and unselfish Washington. Yet we can 
establish by the concurrent authority of the foremost men of all civilized 
countries that what the old monk, Joseph of Exeter,. said of the English 
Alfred is true of him : ' ' The Old World knows not his peer, nor will the 
future show us his equal ; he alone towers over other kings, better than 
the past ones, and greater than those that are to be." 

That integrity, that unambitious ,service, that unerring wisdom, that 
unwearied industry, that unhesitating self-sacrifice, that purity not only 
unsullied but untempted — not even the temptation to sin seems to have 
beset that lofty nature — were all his. The devil is an ass. But he 
never was such an ass as to waste his time tempting George Washington. 

There is no time to-day to cite the overwhelming and concurrent testi- 
mony of great Englishmen, statesmen, and writers of history, and of 
great authorities on the Continent, to the primacy of George Washing- 
ton among mankind. The only name likely to be thought of anywhere 
for parallel or comparison is that in whose glory we also have an inher- 
ited title to share — that of Alfred, the thousandth anniversary of whose 
death is about to be celebrated by the people on whose throne his descend- 
ant now sits. 

This whole city is, in a larger sense, a Washington monument. It 
were better that that great name pass into oblivion and be forgotten 
unless the walls of this building where we are assembled, dedicated to 
legislation and to justice, also bear honorable witness to the character 
and influence of him who laid its corner stone. Here for a hundred 
years a free people have enacted a great history, with its great achieve- 
ments and its greater self-restraints. Here have been enacted the laws 
under which thirteen States have become forty-five States, and the 
country, which at first covered a little space by the side of the Atlantic, 



128 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

has spread until it covers a continent and its portals are upon both the 
seas. Here has been witnessed the sublimest spectacle that can exist on 
earth — a great and free people governing itself by a law higher than its 
own desire. A country where every man has his equal voice must, in 
its legislation, sometimes exhibit the infirmity common to humanity. 
But, in the main, faith and honor and duty have triumphed in these 
halls over selfishness and passion and ambition. Here the interests of 
capital have been protected by the votes of labor. Here debtors have 
fixed in good faith' the value of their payments to their creditors. Here 
a people under no constraint but their own sense of dut}', determined, in 
spite of fearful temptation, to continue to bear the weight of a vast debt. 
Here the policy of dealing with the conquered was decided at the end of 
a long war by the votes of the conquerors, among whom every other 
family was in mourning for its dead, and not a drop of blood was shed 
and not a punishment exacted. Here finance and currency, with their 
subtleties surpassing the subtleties of metapr^sics, have been dealt with 
by the plain sense of plain men. Here great public ways connecting 
distant oceans have been provided for. Here the manufacturing inde- 
pendence of America has been achieved. Here the great measures have 
been framed and enacted under which millions of men have been raised 
from slavery to citizenship and millions more welcomed from foreign 
lands. Here a disputed title to executive power has been peacefully 
settled under circumstances that would have drenched any other land 
with blood. And all this has been accomplished under the restraints of 
a written Constitution. 

Here, also, in yonder silent chamber have been pronounced the judg- 
ments under which the powers of Nation and State have been kept each 
in its appointed path, as the planets are kept in their courses, without 
noise and without jar. This has been the record of a single century. It 
has been the record of the achievement of earliest youth. The men who 
have wrought this history knew well what they were doing. There has 
been no drifting into empire. They have but seen what they foresaw. 
The man who is to write this story, as Bancroft might have written it, 
as Macaulay might have written it, as he who gave us the best portrait- 
ure of Washington in literature before Massachusetts called him to 
another sendee — called him from writing history to making it — might 
have written it, has not yet begun his task. But it will yet be written. 
It will be written to be read of all men, as the one best story, so far, of 
constitutional liberty, protected and vindicated by law, according to 
the will of a free people. 

Literature and art and science came later. The3' always come later. 
Art has provided for literature in yonder library its noble and fitting 
home. American science, also, has here its noble and fitting home. 
The Smithsonian Institution, founded, as we delight to remember, by 
the generosity of an Englishman, a subject of that gracious sovereign 
from whose realm we have learned so much of law and science and 



Exercises at the Capitol. 129 

literature and liberty, to whom we are glad to send our salutation on 
this our Centennial Day. While we remember with gratitude this great 
benefaction of our English kinsman, we are happy to recall also that it 
has been at least in some degree recompensed by the bounty to the city 
of London of George Peabody, an American, a citizen of the North by 
birth, a Southern man by adoption, an admirable example of the best 
traits of both sections blended into the highest character and type of 
American citizenship. Here, alao, universities destined to take a high 
rank among the great institutions of the world have already laid their 
foundations and are raising their towers to the sky. 

The men who wrought this great work are gone- — most of them — John 
Adams and his illustrious son, Jefferson and Madison and Jackson and 
Lincoln and Grant and Webster and Clay and Calhoun and Seward and 
Benton and Sumner and Wilson and Morton and Chandler and Stevens 
and Fessenden and Justin Morrill and L,amar and Harris and Bayard — I 
have begun a catalogue I can not complete But no list of the illustrious 
statesmen of the Republic or of the illustrious benefactors of this metrop- 
olis in the last century must omit the name of him whom the fatal arrow 
smote, in the hour which seemed alike the end and the beginning of a 
great career — your predecessor and friend, Mr. President, James A. 
Garfield. A few of their companions and coadjutors survive to behold 
the dawn of the new century and give their counsel to the people who 
are to carry on its work, as a few of the companions of Washington 
beheld the beginning of this, and inaugurated its great accomplishment 
on the principles of the Revolution. Their work also is about done. 
They seem to survive for a brief period only that the new century may 
clasp hands with the old, and that they may bring to the future the 
benediction of the past. 

The presiding officer then announced that the purposes of 
the joint convention had been accomplished and declared it 
dissolved, restoring the gavel to the Speaker of the House. 
Thereupon the President and his Cabinet, the Chief Justice 
and the associate justices of the Supreme Court, the Senate, 
the ambassadors and ministers to the United States, the Gov- 
ernors of the several States and Territories, the Commis- 
sioners of the District of Columbia and others, retired. 

The Fifth United States Cavalry escorted the President 
back to the Executive Mansion. 

To Mr. R. Ross Perry, chairman of the committee on exer- 
cises at the Capitol, and his assistants is due great credit for 
the orderly manner in which the arrangements intrusted to 
his committee were carried out. The committee was sub- 
divided into four sections: Legislation, Mr. Chapin Brown, 
H. Doc. 552 9 



130 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

chairman; stands, Mr. John B. Larner, chairman; admission 
and escort, Mr. M. I. Weller, chairman; seating guests, Mr. 
William Henderson Moses, chairman. Mr. Chapin Brown, 
vice-chairman, rendered excellent service in connection with 
the accomplishment of the necessary legislation. 

Mr. Larner maintained his reputation for skill and energy 
in connection with the construction of the very tasteful 
stands, which were arranged for by the Architect of the Cap- 
itol, Mr. Eliot Woods, Assistant Architect, the Sergeant-at- 
Arms of the Senate, and other officers of Congress. 

The arrangements under Mr. Weller were most satisfac- 
tory. Certain rooms were set aside for the officials partici- 
pating in the exercises, and at the proper time they were 
ushered to the floor by the doorkeeper and took their respec- 
tive positions in line preparatory to entering the Chamber. 

During the absence of Mr. Moses, Mr. Norris assumed his 
duties and displayed much tact in seating the guests without 
confusion. Excellent order throughout was maintained by 
the officials of the House of Representatives. 



RECEPTION AT THE CORCORAN GALLERY 
OF ART. 



RECEPTION AT THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF 
ART. 



The Centennial Celebration was brought to a close by a 
reception in the evening at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 
honor of the Governors of the States and Territories. There 
was a large reception committee, of which Mr. Charles J. Bell 
was the chairman, and the arrangements, which had been 
carefully planned under his personal direction, were satisfac- 
torily carried out. On the committee were the members 
of the Cabinet, the Chief Justice and associate justices of the 
United States Supreme Court, the Commissioners of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, the Chief Justice and judges of the Court 
of Claims, the Chief Justice and associate justices of the 
Supreme Court of the District of Columbia and of the Court 
of Appeals, together with a selected list of representative 
private citizens. 

The reception committee was subdivided into four sections: 
Receiving committee, executive committee, floor committee, 
and committee of the country at large. The receiving party, 
which included the executive committee, together with the 
chairmen and vice-chairmen of the several subcommittees 
appointed by the citizens' committee, was divided into two 
parts, one serving from 8 to 9.30 o'clock, and the other from 
9.30 to 11 o'clock. The first section of this committee con- 
sisted of Messrs. S. H. Kauffmann, vice-chairman, H. F. 
Blount, Barry Bulkley, H. I. Cobb, George H. Harries, W. S. 
Knox, J. K. McCammon, Willis Moore, Theodore W. Noyes, 
E. S. Parker, R. Ross Perry, Thomas W. Smith, John W. 
Thompson, W. P. Van Wickle, B. H. Warner, Beriah Wil- 
kins, and John B. Wight. The second division included Hon. 
Henry B. F. Macfarland, vice-chairman, Rear Admiral Edwin 
Stewart, Gen. H. V. Boynton, and Messrs. James G. Berret, 

133 



134 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Chapin Brown, W. V. Cox, John Joy Edson, W. S. Hutchins, 
J. B. Larner, W. H. Moses, Myron M. Parker, M. I. Weller, 
A. A. Wilson, S. W. Woodward, and Simon Wolf. The floor 
committee and the committee at large also assisted in receiv- 
ing and entertaining the invited guests, who began to arrive 
at 8 o'clock. 

The gallery was very effectively lighted throughout, thus 
affording the visitors an opportunity of examining the collec- 
tions of pictures and statuary. A section of the Marine Band, 
conducted by Lieutenant Santelmann, was stationed at the 
south end of the south court, and delighted the guests with 
patriotic airs. 

At about half-past 9 o'clock the President and his party 
arrived. The President was escorted to the gallery by Mr. 
Bell, followed by Secretary Hitchcock, Secretary Wilson and 
other members of the Cabinet, and Mr. Cortelyou, Secretary 
to the President, and here the Governors, prominent officials, 
and the specially-invited guests paid their formal respects to 
the Chief Executive. The Governors were attended by their 
staffs, in uniform; and the numerous officers of the Army 
and Navy, who were present in their full dress uniform, lent 
an added brilliancy to the inspiring occasion, at which full} 7 
5,000 persons were in attendance. 



PERSONNEL OF COMMITTEES. 



PERSONNEL OF COMMITTEES. 



JOINT COMMITTEE. 
Hon. Eugene Hale, chairman. Mr. W. V. Cox, secretary. 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

Hon. George C. Perkins, U. S. S., chairman. 

Hon. Henry B. F. Macfarland, vice-chairman. 1 

Mr. W. V. Cox, secretary. 
Mr. Charles J. Bell. Mr. Theodore W. Noyes. 

Hon. Elisha Dyer. Col. Myron M. Parker. 

Mr. John Joy Edson. Hon. John B. Wight. • 

Hon. Joel P. Heatwole, M. C. 

SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 

Hon. Eugene Hale, U. S. S., chairman. 2 Hon. George C. Perkins, U. S. S. 

Hon. Alexander S. Clay, U. S. S. Hon. Joseph Simon, U. S. S. 

Hon. John L. McLaurin, U. S. S. Hon. Thomas B. Turley, U. S. S. 
Hon. James McMillan, U. S. S. 

SELECT COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

Hon. Joseph G. Cannon, M. C, chair- Hon. Robert J. Gamble, M. C. 

man. Hon. William W. Grout, M. C. 

Hon. Joseph W. Bailey, M. C. Hon. Joel P. Heatwole, M. C. 

Hon. John C. Bell, M. C. Hon. James A. Hemenway, M. C. 

Hon. William S. Cowherd, M. C. Hon. James S. Sherman, M. C. 
Hon. Marion De Vries, M. C.3 

COMMITTEE FROM THE COUNTRY AT LARGE. 
[Arranged alphabetically by States.] 

Hon. Joseph F. Johnston Alabama. 

Hon. Daniel W. Jones Arkansas. 

Hon. H. H. Markham California. 

Hon. Charles S. Thomas Colorado. 

Hon. George E. Lounsbury Connecticut. 

Hon. Ebe W. Tunnell Delaware. 

Hon. William D. Bloxham Florida. 

Hon. Allen D. Candler Georgia, 

1 Succeeding Mr. John B. Wight, February 27, 1900. 

2 Succeeding Mr. Hoar as chairman. 

3 Succeeded by Hon. James W. Denny, M. C, on December 5, 1900. 

137 



138 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Hon. F. Steunenberg Idaho. 

Hon. John R. Tanner Illinois. 

Hon. James A. Mount '. Indiana. 

Hon. Leslie M. Shaw Iowa. 

Hon. W. E. Stanley Kansas. 

Hon. J. C. W. Beckham Kentucky. 

Hon. Murphy J. Foster Louisiana. 

Hon. Llewellyn Powers Maine. 

Hon. Lloyd Lowndes Maryland. 

Hon. Roger Wolcott Massachusetts. 

Hon. Hazen S. Pingree Michigan. 

Hon. John Lind Minnesota. 

Hon. A. J. McLaurin Mississippi. 

Hon. Lon V. Stephens Missouri. 

Hon. Robert B. Smith Montana. 

Hon. W. A. Poynter Nebraska. 

Hon. Reinhold Sadler Nevada. 

Hon. Frank W. Rollins New Hampshire. 

Hon. Foster M. Voorhees New Jersey. 

Hon. Theodore Roosevelt New York. 

Hon.' Daniel L. Russell North Carolina. 

Hon. F. B. Fancher North Dakota. 

Hon. Asa S. Bushnell Ohio. 

Hon. Theodore T. Geer Oregon. 

Hon. William A. Stone Pennsylvania. 

Hon. Elisha Dyer Rhode Island. 

Hon. M. B. McSweeney South Carolina. 

Hon. Andrew E. Lee South Dakota. 

Hon. Benton McMillin ■ Tennessee. 

Hon. A. W. Fly Texas. 

Hon. Heber H. Wells Utah. 

Hon. Edwin C. Smith Vermont. 

Hon. J. Hoge Tyler Virginia. 

Hon. John R. Rogers Washington. 

Hon. G. W. Atkinson West Virginia. 

Hon. Edward Scofield Wisconsin. 

Hon. De Forest Richards Wyoming. 

Hon. John G. Brady Alaska. 

Hon. N. O. Murphy Arizona. 

Hon. Miguel A. Otero New Mexico. 

Hon. Cassius M. Barnes Oklahoma. 

CITIZENS' COMMITTEE. 
Hon. Henry B. F. Macfarland, chairman. Hon. John B. Wight, vice-chairman. 

Col. Myron M. Parker, treasurer. Mr. W. V. Cox, secretary. 

Mr. W. P. Van Wickle, assistant secretary. 
Mr. Charles J. Bell. Mr. Theodore W. Noyes. 

Col. James G. Berret. Mr. R. Ross Perry. 

Mr. John Joy Edson. Mr. John W. Thompson. 

Mr. Beriah Wilkins. 

RECEPTION COMMITTEE. 

Charles J. Bell, chairman. S. H. Kauffmann, vice-chairman. 

William Kerr, secretary. 



Personnel of Committees. 



'39 



THE CABINET. 



John Hay, Secretary of State. 
Lyman J. Gage, Secretary of Treasury. 
Elihu Root, Secretary of War. 
John W. Griggs, Attorney-General. 
Charles Emory Smith, Postmaster-Gen- 
eral. 



John D. Long, Secretary of Navy. 
Ethan Allen Hitchcock, Secretary of In- 
terior. 
James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. 



UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. 



Melville W. Fuller, Chief Justice. 
John M. Harlan, associate justice. 
Horace Gray, associate justice. 
David J. Brewer, associate justice. 
Henry B. Brown, associate justice. 



George Shiras, jr., associate justice. 
Edward D. White, associate justice. 
Rufus W. Peckham, associate justice. 
Joseph McKenna, associate justice. 



COURT OF CLAIMS. 



Charles C. Nott, chief justice. 
Lawrence Weldon, judge. 



Charles B. Howry, judge. 



John Davis, judge. 
Stanton J. Peelle, judge. 



COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



Henry B. F. Macfarland. 



Capt. Lansing H. Beach, U. S. A. 



John W. Ross. 



COURT OF APPEALS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Richard H. Alvey, chief justice. Martin F. Morris, associate justice. 

Seth Shepard, associate justice. 



SUPREME COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



Edward F. Bingham, chief justice. 
Alexander B. Hagner, associate justice. 
Andrew C. Bradley, associate justice. 



Charles C. Cole, associate justice. 
Harry M. Clabaugh, associate justice. 
Job Barnard, associate justice. 



OTHER MEMBERS OF COMMITTEE ON RECEPTION. 



Addison, A. D. 

Adee, Hon. Alvey A. 

Adler, Dr. Cyrus. 

Abert, William Stone. 

Allen, Col. Charles J. 

Almy, C . G. 

Andrews, Hon. W. E., 

Auditor. 
Baird, Commander George 

W., U. S. N. 
Baker, Brook M. 
Baker, John A. 
Barber, A. L. 



Barber, LeDroict L. 

Barnes, Benjamin F. ■ 

Barney, Harry Wilder. 

Beale, Truxton. 

Bell, Alexander Graham. 

Benjamin, Marcus. 

Berger, Fred. G. 

Berry, Walter V. R. 

Bestor, Norman. 

Biddle, J. M. 

Bingham, Col.TheodoreA. 

U. S. A. 
Birney, Arthur A. 



Bispham, Charles. 

Blagden, Thomas. 

Blair, Gist. 

Blair, Montgomery. 

Blair, Woodbury. 

Bloomer, George C. 

Bone, Scott C. 

Bowers, Hon. George M. 

Breckinridge, Gen. J. C. 

U. S. A. 
Brewer, Hon. Mark S. 
Brice, Arthur T. 
Brigham, Hon. J. H. 



140 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



Bristol, Rev. F. M. 
Brown, Jesse. 
Browne, Aldis B. 
Brownlow, Col. J. B. 
Butler, Rev. J. G. 
Caldwell, Lieut. H. H., 

U. S. N. 
Carlisle, Calderon. 
Carnegie, Andrew. 
Casilear, George W. 
Chapin, Frederick E. 
Chatard, Dr. T. M. 
Chew, John J. 
Chew, Robert S. 
Chilton, R. S., jr. 
Clarke, Prof. F. W. 
Clements, Hon. J. C. 
Clephane, Walter C. 
Cobb, Henry I. 
Col well, J. H. 
Conaty, Rev. Thomas. 
Corbin, Maj. Gen. H. C, 

U. S. A. 
Corning, J. H. 
Cortelyou, Hon. George B., 

Secretary to the Presi- 
dent. 
Cotton, John B. 
Cox, Judge W. S. 
Crawford, Joseph. 
Crawford, Lieut. John W., 

U. S. N. 
Cridler, Hon. Thomas W. 
Custis, Dr. J. B. Gregg. 
Custis, Dr. Marvin A. 
Davidge, Walter D. 
Davis, Lieut. Cleland, 

U. S. N. 
Davis, Henry E. 
Davis, Madison, 
Dawes, Hon. Charles G. 
Deeble, W. Riley. 
De Koven, Reginald. 
Denny, Maj. F L., U. S. 

M. C. 
Dent, Loviis A. 
Dewey, Admiral George, 

U. S. N. 
Dodge, P. T. 
Domer, Charles S. 
Douglass, Hon. J. W. 
Duell, Hon. C. H. 
Dulany, H. Rozier. 
Dulin, Charles G. 



Duval, L. Kemp. 

Duvall, Andrew B. 

Edmonston, W. E. 

Eustis, W. C. 

Evans, Hon. H. Clay. 

Ffoulke, Horace C. 

Fill, Ira H. 

Fisher, Robert J. 

Fitch, James E. 

Flint, Dr. J. M.,U. S. N. 

Foster, Hon. John W. 

Foust, F. De C. 

Fox, Williams C. 

Fraser, Daniel. 

Fry, Dr. H. D. 

Gaillard, Capt. David DuB. 

Gannon, Frank S. 

Giesy, S. Herbert. 

Gill, Dr. Theodore N. 

Glover, C. C. 

Goodloe, Col. Green Clay, 

U. S. M. C. 
Gordon, William A. 
Gorham, George C. 
Greely, Gen. A. W., U. S.A. 
Green, Bernard R. 
Greene, Rev. Samuel H. 
Gunnell, Dr. R. H. 
Hackett, Hon. Frank W. 
Hamilton, George E. 
Hamlin, Rev. T. S. 
Harban, Dr. W. S. 
Harris, Capt. P. C, U. S. A. 
Heath, Perry S. 
Hellen, Benjamin. 
Hellen, George. 
Henderson, Hon. J. B. 
Henderson, J. B., jr. 
Henderson, William G. 
Herbert, Hon. H. A. 
He}'\vood, Gen. Charles, 

U. S. M. C. 
Hill, Hon. David J., jr. 
Hill, William Corcoran 
Hills, Wallace H. 
Hine, Hon. L. G. 
Hopkins, Archibald. 
Howland, S. S. 
Hunt, Gaillard. 
Hyde, Thomas. 
Jenkins, Dr. Ralph. 
Johnson, Hugo. 
Johnson, Hon. W. M. 
Johnston, James M. 



Johnston, Dr. W. W. 

Jones, Hon. W. A. 

Kasson, Hon. J. A. 

Kauffmann, Victor. 

Keith, Arthur. 

Keller, Thomas T. 

Lamberton, Capt. B. P., 
U. S. N. 

Langley, Dr. S. P. 

Legare, Alexander B. 

Legare, Hugh S. 

Legge, A. M. 

Leiter, Joseph. 

Leiter, L. Z. 

Loring, Dr. F B. 

Lowndes, James. 

Luckett, Oscar. 

McCallum, James I. 

McCammon, J. K. 

McCauley, Edward. 

McCauley, Henry C. 

McGee, W. J. 

McGuire, Frederick B. 

Mackay-Smith, Rev. Alex- 
ander. 

McKee, David R. 

McKenney, Charles A. 

McKenney, J. H. 

McKim, Rev. R. H. 

Macfarland, Lieut. Horace 
G., U.S.N. 

Magruder, Dr. G. L. 

Mallan, Dr. T. F. 

Maury, W. A. 

May, Col. Henry. 

Meiklejohn, Hon. G. D. 

Meredith, Capt. W. M. 

Merriam, Hon. W. R. 

Merrick, Richard T. 

Merritt, Hon. John A. 

Metcalf, W. P. 

Michael, William H . 

Michler, A. K. 

Michler, Capt. Francis, 
U. S. A. 

Miles, Lieut. Gen. Nelson 
A., U.S. A. 

Miller, Commander Fred- 
erick A., U.S.N. 

Miller, John. 

Montgomery, Col. B. F., 
U. S. A. 

Moore, Charles. 
Moore, Clarence. 



Personnel of Committees. 



141 



Moore, Prof. Willis L. 
Moses, Arthur C. 
Neale, Sidney C. 
Needham, Charles W. 
Newman, Rev. S. M. 
Nicolay, Col. John G. 
Noyes, Crosby S. 
O'Donnell, J. C. 
Orman, Hon. John B. 
Orme, William D. 
Page, Thomas Nelson. 
Palmer, F. W. 
Palmer, Hon. Aulick. 
Parson, Rev. W. E. 
Perry, R. Ross, jr. 
Peters, E. F. 
Petteys, Dr. C. V. 
Phillips, P. Lee. 
Pickford, Thomas H. 
Pinchot, Gifford. 
Powderly, Hon. T. V. 
Powell, Maj. John W. 
Power, Rev. Frederick D. 
Pradt, Hon. L. A. 
Procter, Hon. John R. 
Prouty, Hon. C. A. 
Pruden, O. E. 
Putnam, Hon. Herbert. 
Radcliffe, Rev. Wallace. 
Rafferty, Col. William A., 

U. S. A. 
Rathbun, Richard. 
Ravenel, W. de C. 
Reeve, Col. F. A. 
Repetti, Dr. F. F. 
Richards, Hon. J. K. 
Richardson, Dr. Charles W. 
Richardson, Mason N. 



Riggs, E. Francis. 

Rixey, Dr. P. M. 

Roberts, Hon. Ellis H. 

Rodney, Lieut. Command- 
er R. B., U. S. N. 

Rosse, Irving C. 

Ruggles, Gen. G. D. 

Russell, Sol. Smith. 

Rutherford, Col. R. G. 

Ryan, Hon. Thomas. 

Sands, F. P. B. 

Satterlee.Rt.Rev. Henry Y. 

Scott, Judge C. F. 

Seymour, H. A. 

Shallenberger, Hon. W. S. 

Shoemaker, L- P. 

Slaybaugh, G. H. 

Small, J. H., jr. 

Smith, Franklin Webster. 

Spaulding, Hon. O. L. 

Spear, Gen. Ellis. 

Spofford, A. R. 

Stafford, Rev. D. J. 

Stevens, F. C. 

Stevens, Hon. Theron. 

Stewart, Hon. A. T. 

Stewart, H. C. 

Stewart, Rear-Admiral Ed- 
win, U. S. N. 

Story, J. P., jr. 

Strong, Frank. 

Stuart, Prof. A. T. 

Sullivan, Thomas J. 

Taggart, Hugh T. 

Talmage, Rev. T. DeWitt. 

Taylor, Hon. J . K. 

Thorn, Corcoran. 

Thompson, Dr. J. Ford. 

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. 



Thoron, Ward. 

Thropp, Joseph E. 

Towusend, Richard H. 

Townsend, Capt. Thomas 
G.,U. S. A. 

Tracewell, Hon. R. J. 

True, Dr. F. W. 

Tyler, Alfred. 

Van Devanter, Hon. Willis. 

Vanderlip, Hon. F. A. 

Verrill, Charles H. 

Vincent, Brig. Gen. Thos. 
M.,U. S. A. 

Waggaman, John F. 

Walcott, Hon. Charles D. 

Wallach, Richard. 

Walsh, T. F. 

Watkins, J. Elfreth. 

Webb, H. Randall. 

Weller, Joseph I. 

Whiting, G. F. 

Whitney, Rev. John D. 

Whittemore, W. C. 

Wilkins, John F. 

Wilkinson, Ernest. 

Willard, J. E. 

Wilson, A. A. 

Wilson, Brig. Gen. John 
M.,U. S. A. 

Wilson, Nathaniel. 

Wilson, Dr. Thomas. 

Woodhull, Gen. Maxwell 
V. Z. 

Wylie, Horace. 

Wyman, Surg. Gen. Wal- 
ter, U. S. M. H. S. 

Yarrow, Dr. H. C. 

Young, John R. 



Myron M. Parker, chairman. Henry F. Blount, vice-chairman. 

W. Scott Towers, secretary. 



Abbot, Dr. Griffith E 
Alvord, T. G. 
Arms, John T. 
Babson, J. W. 
Bailey, L. C. 
Barker, William E. 
Barross, John V. 
Bayne, Dr. J. W. 
Biscoe, H. L. 
Boardman, W. J. 



Bovee, Dr. J. W. 
Boynton, C. A. 
Bradley, C. S. 
Brown, Chapin. 
Brown, L. S. 
Burdette, W. W. 
Cassels, John. 
Chamberlin, J. M. 
Chase, W. Calvin. 
Church, W. A. H. 



Cook, John F. 
Cox, W. V. 
Cranford, J. H. 
Crocker, Frank. 
Crosby, O. T. 
Curriden, S. W. 
Curtis, W. E. 
Darlington, J. J. 
Darneille, H. H. 
Davidson, H. Bradley. 



142 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



Davis, H. E. 
Davis, Lewis J. 
Dove, J. Maury. 
Duncanson, C. C. 
Dunlop, George T. 
Dutton, R. W. 
Dyrenforth, M. 
Earnest, J. P. 
Earnshaw, B. B. 
Emery, M. G. 
Emmons, George E. 
Evans, Prof. D. J. 
Evans, George W. 
Fleming, R. I. 
Foster, Percy S. 
Fox, A. F. 
Freeman, J. R. 
Fuller, H. W. 
Gale, Thomas M. 
Gait, Ralph. 
Gait, Walter A. 
Gasch, H. E. 
Gibson, George. 
Gillett, A. S. 
Glover, C. C. 
Gordon, J. H. 
Green, J. M. 

Greenlees, Archibald. 
Gude, W. F. 

Gurley, W. B. 

Harper, Robert N. 

Harris, R. 

Hay, E. B. 

Hege, S. B. 

Heiskell, P.H., jr. 

Hemphill, John J. 

Henning, George C. 

Herrell, John E. 

Herron, J. Whit. 

Heurich, Christian 

Hibbs, W. B. 

Hoeke, Wm. H. 

Hoge, W. S. 

Horn, Aaron. 

Hume, Frank. 

Hutchins, Stilson. 

Hutchins, Walter S. 

James, Chas. A. 

Janney, B. T. 

Jeffords, Tracy L. 

Johnson, E. S. 

Johnson, R. S. 

Jones, Chas. A. 

Jones, Thos. R. 



Kann, Simon. 
Kauffmann, S. H. 
Kellogg, W. P. 
Kendall, J. Blake. 
Kimball, Judge I. G. 
Knox, W. S. 
Lambert, W. J. 
Lambie, J. B. 
Lansburgh, Gustave. 
Larner, John B. 
Lee, Blair. 
Lisner, A. 
Lothrop, A. M. 
Loughran, Daniel. 
McChesney, J. D. 
McGill, J. N. 
McGowan, J. H. 
McKay, Nathaniel. 
McLanahan, George C. 
McLean, John R. 
Marean, M. 
Marlow, E. S. 
Mattingly, W. F. 
May, F. P. 
Mayer, T. Jacob. 
Miller, Jos. S. 
Moore, David. 
Morrill, Jas. S. 
Moss, Geo. W. 
Murray, Daniel. 
Nailor, Allison. 
Newbold, John L. 

Newton, W. J. 

Norment, Clarence F. 

Norris, Jas. L. 

Noyes, F. B. 

Offutt, H. W. 

Owen, Owen. 

Oyster, Jas. F. 

Parker, E. Southard. 

Parker, H. B. 

Parris, A. K. 

Paul, Joseph. 

Portner, Robert F. 

Purvis, Dr. C. B. 

Ralston, J. H, 

Rapley, W. H, 

Raymond, Frank K. 

Read, A. M. 

Roberts, W. F. 

Roessle, T. E. 

Roome, W. O. 

Ross, Burton R. 

Ross, Samuel. 



Saks, Isadore. 
Scbafer, E. G. 
Schneider, T. F. 
Shedd, S. S. 
Simpson, H. K. 
Slater, I. C. 
Sloan, C. G. 
Smith, E. S. 
Smith, Fred S. 
Smith, Thos. W. 
Sornerville, J. W. 
Sowers, Dr. Z. T. 
Staples, O. G. 
Stellwagen, E. J. 
Stevens, E. H. 
Stoddard, J. C. 
Studds, Colin. 
Sturtevaut, A. L. 
Swartzell, G. W. F. 
Syme, C. H. 
Thayer, R. H. 
Thomas, Frank H. 
Thompson, Ross. 
Thompson, W. B. 
Thompson, W. S. 
Towers, Lem. 
Truesdell, George. 
Tucker, E. H. 
Tyler, R. W. 

Van Wickle, W. P. 

Waggaman, Thos. E. 

Warner, B. H. 

Webb, John S. 

Weller, M. I. 

Wells, Henry. 

West, H. L. 

White, Geo. W. 

Whitwell, S. N. 

Wilkins, Beriah. 

Wilkins, John F. 

Willard, C. C. 

Willard, H. A. 

Willard, H. K. 

Williams, Geo. B. 

Wilson, J. M. 

Wine, L. D. 

Wines, M. W. 

Wolf, Simon. 

Woodbury, Levi. 

Woodward, S. W. 

Worthington, A. S. 

Young, N. E. 

Zeh, W. J. 



Personnel of Committees. 143 

COMMITTEE ON EXERCISES AT THE EXECUTIVE MANSION. 



John Joy Edson, chairman. 

S. W. Woodward, vice-chairman. 

Walter S. Hutchins, vice-chairman. 



B. H. Warner, vice-chairman. 
Thomas W. Smith, vice-chairman. 
Frank P. Reeside, secretary. 



MEMBERS. 



Adams, W. Irving. 
Anderson, Thomas H. 
Ansley, H. C. 
Ashford, Mahlon. 
Aspinwall, C. A. 
Austin, O. P. 
Babbitt, Dr. Z. B. 
Bailey, Charles B. 
Baker, Dr. Marcus. 
Barry, David S. 
Beckett, F. O. 
Birney, William. 
Birth, William W. 
Bittinger, Rev. B. F. 
Blair, Henry P. 
Boynton, Charles A. 
Brown, Austin P. 
Brown, George W. 
Brown, Thomas. 
Burdett, Gen. S. S. 
Busey, Dr. S. C. 
Cammack, John. 
Carusi, Eugene. 
Caverly, R. B. 
Chamberlain, J. A. 
Chapman, Rev. William H. 
Chappell, L. B. 
Cheatham, Hon. H. P. 
Chickering, Prof. John W. 
Church, C. B. 
Clark, C. S. 
Clark, Dr. Daniel B. 
Clephane, Lewis P. 
Cohen, Max. 
Concklin, Edward F. 
Cornwell, S. G. 
Coyle, J. F. 
Crook, W. H. 
Cropley, Thomas L. 
Crosthwaite, F. B. 
Cummings, Horace S. 
Cutts, J. Madison. 
Dall, Dr. W. H. 
Danenhower, W. W. 
Davis, E. G. 
DeLashmutt, L. O. 
Dingman, Harrison. 



Dodge, W. W. 
Domer, Rev. Samuel. 
Donnelly, Owen V. 
Dulin, Thaddeus C. 
Earnshaw, Richard J. 
Edson, Joseph R. 
Edwards, Burr N. 
Elliott, N. T. 
Embry, James H. 
Fardon, Dr. A. P. 
Ffoulke, Charles M. 
Fisher, Thomas J. 
Foster, Charles E. 
Fowler, Edwin H. 
Freeman, H. W., jr. 
Freund, Harry Edward. 
Frizzell, William J. 
Gallaudet, Dr. E. M. 
Gait, Norman. 
Gait, William. 
Hamlin, John P. 
Harlow, Hon. J. B. 
Harris, Hon. W. T. 
Heaton, Frank M. 
Hendrick, D. S. 
Hermann, Hon. Binger. 
Hesselbach, Max. 
Hickling, D. Percy, M. D. 
Hill, J. G. 

Holbrook, Theodore L. 
Holmead, William. 
Howard, L. O. 
Hoyt, Hon. H. M. 
Hughes, P. M. 
Hurst, Bishop John F. 
Hutchins, Lee. 
Jackson, Hon. E, E. 
Jackson, W. Bladen. 
Johnson, William C. 
Kauffmanu, Rudolph. 
Keim, De B. Randolph. 
Kelly, J. F. 
King, Dr. W. R. 
Knapp, Hon. Marcus A. 
La Fetra, Edwin L. 
Lane, Dr. F. R. 
Lanston, Tolbert. 



Larcomb, Benjamin F. 
Larner, Noble D. 
Lehmann, Frederick A. 
Leighton, B. F. 
Lewis, Dr. Samuel E. 
Lockwood, E. J. 
Lockwood, Philo J. 
Lucas, F. A. 
Lyons, Judson W. 
MacVeagh, Wayne. 
McKnew, W. H. 
McLachlen, A. M. 
Maddox, Samuel. 
Magruder, J. H. 
Maloney, P. 
Mann, B. Pickman. 
Marbury, John, jr. 
Mason, O. T. 
Merrill, Daniel F. 
Merrill, George P. 
Moore, F. L. 
Morse, Alexander P. 
Morsell, Samuel T. G. 
Mullowny, Alexander R. 
Nesbit, C. F. 
Newcomb, Simon. 
Nicolay, J. G. 
Noyes, Thomas C. 
Owen, Frederick D. 
Oyster, George M. 
Parker, John C. 
Pearson, George W. 
Pilling, Frederick W 
Pitzer, Rev. Alexander W. 
Portner, Robert. 
Prather, Joseph. 
Price, William W. 
Prosise, J. L. 
Queen, Benjamin F. 
Rankin, Rev. J. E. 
Rapley, W. W. 
Reyburn, Dr. Robert. 
Rheem, Clarence B. 
Rhees, W. J. 
Ridgway, Robert. 
Rudolph, C. H. 
Riley, Thomas W. 



144 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



Saunders, L. M. 
Schaefer, J. W. 
Schafhirt, A. J. 
Shea, N. H. 
Siddons, F. L. 
Simmons, Leo. 
Small, John H. 
Smith, Emmons S. 
Smith, Freeborn G. 
Smoot, S. C. 
Sperry, A. F. 
Spohn, Milford. 
Sternberg, Gen. G. M. 
Stinemetz, B. H. 
Sunderland, Rev. Byron. 



Swope, John A. 
Stone, D. D. 
Terrell, R. H. 
Thompson, Magnus S. 
Thorn, Charles G. 
Tindall, Dr. William. 
Trimble, Matthew. 
Twombly, H. H. 
Taylor, Capt. C. W. 
Todd, William B. 
Ucker, Clement S. 
Waring, Dr. J. H. N. 
Weaver, D. F. 
Weaver, John L. 
Welch, Dr. George B. 



Wescott, E. S. 
White, Dr. C. A. 
Wilcox, W. R. 
Wilson, Jesse B. 
Wilson, Dr. Luther B. 
Wimer, J. B. 
Wimsatt, W. A. 
Winship, Henry C. 
Woodward, William R. 
White, William Frye. 
Wilson, Francis A. 
Wilson, J. Henry. 
Young, Elphonzo. 
Young, Dr. William P. 



COMMITTEE ON EXERCISES AT THE CAPITOL. 

The Senate Committee. 

The House of Representatives Committee. 

Citizens' Committee. 



R. Ross Perry, chairman. 

John B. Larner, vice-chairman. 

William Henderson Moses, vice-chairman. 



M. I. Weller, vice-chairman. 
Chapin Brown, vice-chairman. 
Thomas H. McKee, secretary. 



Albert, Allen D. 
Anderson, A. D. 
Baker, Dr. Frank. 
Baldwin, William D. 
Barbour, Andrew. 
Barney, Harry Wilder. 
Bates, James A. 
Beall, Charles B. 
Bennett, Charles G. 
Bingham, A. W. 
Blumenberg, Marc. 
Bradley, Andrew Y. 
Bride, Cotter T. 
Bright, Col. Richard J. 
Brown, Glenn. 
Browning, Frank T. 
Browning, William J. 
Bulkley, Dr. J. W. 
Bussey, Gen. Cyrus. 
Cantwell, Edwin J. 
Carrington, Campbell. 
Casson, Henry. 
Chamberlain, Dr. F. T. 
Chambers, D. A. 
Chaney, John C. 
Childs", Rev. T. S. 



MEMBERS. 

Cissel, W. H. H. 
Clark, Appleton P. 
Clark, J. B. 
Cleaves, Thomas P. 
Clephane, Allan O. 
Coburn, Henry C. 
Cohen, Myer. 
Cohen, Robert. 
Colladay, E. F. 
Concklin, Edward F. 
Couden, Rev. Henry N. 
Courts, J. C. 
Coville, F. V. 
Cremer, John D. 
Croggen, James. 
Croissant, John D. 
Crystal, James A. 
Cushman, Charles R. 
Darneille, Hopewell H. 
Davis, Allan. 
De Land, Theo. L. 
Dudley, W. W. 
Dunnell, E. G. 
Duvall, W. C. 
Easton, Rev. Thomas C. 
Eichhorn, Rudolph. 



Evans, Dr. W. B. 
Faulkner, Hon. Charles J. 
Fisher, Samuel T. 
Fletcher, Dr. Robert. 
French, Walter H. 
Gannett, Henry. 
Gates, Merrill E. 
Gawler, Joseph. 
Gensler, H. J. 
Gilfry, Henry H. 
Glenn, W. J. 
Goode, Hon. John. 
Gorman, Hon. A. P. 
Hamilton, Charles A. 
Hanger, Harry B. 
Henderson, John. 
Hill, Isaac R. 
Hillyer, C. J. 
Hinds, Asher C. 
Holmes, Prof. W. H. 
Howard, Dr. Joseph T. 
Howe, Albert H. 
Huntoon, Dr. A. J. 
Huxford, Maj. W. P. 
Jackson, B. Lowndes. 
Johnson, H. M. 



Personnel of Committees. 



145 



Kober, Dr. G. M. 
Lambert, T. A. 
Lansburgh, Max. 
Lincoln, Col. Charles P. 
Lincoln, S. Dana. 
Lipscomb, Andrew A. 
Littlepage, Capt. H. B. 
McCammon, Ormsby. 
McDowell, Alexander. 
McElroy, Col. John. 
McElroy, Joseph C. 
McNeely, Leroy J. 
Maher, James D. 
Manning, Dr. W. P. 
Marble, Hon. E. M. 
Marlow, James H. 
Meloy, William A. 
Metcalf, W. W. 
Milburn, Rev. William H. 
Mills, Gen. Anson, U. S. A. 
Moore, Charles. 
Morgan, Dr. George. 
Morgan, Thomas P. 
Mosher, Robert Brent. 
Munn, Henry B. 
Norris, James L. 
O'Farrell, Patrick. 
Ogden, H. G. 
Paine, Elmer E. 
Paine, Gen. H. E. 
Parker, E. Southard. 
Parsons, J. L. 
Pearson, Charles B. 



Perkins, L. W. 
Peter, Arthur. 
Pierce, Edwin S. 
Pilling, John W. 
Prentiss, Dr. D. W. 
Price, Hon. Hiram. 
Pulsifer, Woodbury. 
Pursell, C. C. 
Ramsdell, Daniel M. 
Reddington, J. K. 
Reed, Wilson G. 
Repetti, George R. 
Richard, Julian W. 
Richardson, Dr. A. B. 
Riggles, J. Richard. 
Rittenhouse, S. W. 
Rockwell, J. E. 
Rose, Henry M. 
Ross, Col. George C. 
Sanner, F. T. 
Schofield, John C. 
Selden, John. 
Shields, Charles A. 
Silverman, Louis J. 
Simpson, Edward F. 
Smith, Amzi. 
Sohon, Henry W. 
Solotnois, A. S. 
Stafford, A. O. 
Stevens, Walter B. 
Stewart, Alonzo H. 
Stout, J. Kennedy. 
Stoutenburgh, Dr. J. A. 



Strobeck, Chas. H. 
Talbert, George W. 
Tanner, Hon. James. 
Thomas, A. A. 
Tittman, O. H. 
Todd, William E. 
True, Alfred C. 
Truesdell, Hon. George. 
Vail, Benjamin. 
Walford, D. N. 
Walker, Samuel H. 
Walker, William T. 
Ward, M. P. 
Warner, B. H., jr. 
Washington, Col. Llewel- 
lyn. 
Weaver, Charles H. 
Weller, Frank P. 
White, Ashton S. H. 
White, Wallace H. 
Whittington, Granville N. 
Willet, Richard. 
Williams, Dr. J. T. 
Willige, J. Louis. 
Wilson, J. Ormond. 
Wines, Hon. Fred H. 
Woods, Elliott. 
Wright, Gen. Marcus J. 
Wylie, Judge Andrew. 
Wynne, Robert J. 
Yost, William. 



COMMITTEE ON PARADE AND DECORATION. 



Hon. John B. Wight, chairman. 
W. H. Rapley, secretary. 



Gen. George H. Harries, vice-chairman. 
W. W. Connor, assistant secretary. 



Acker, William J. 
Allen, Walter C. 
Alvey, T. F. 
Alvord, E. S. 
Anderson, Marion T. 
Ashford, Snowden. 
Ashmead, W. H. 
Armstrong, R. H. 
Auerbach, Joseph. 
Balloch, Gen. G. W. 
Barton, Dr. W. M. 
Bayly, Charles B. 
Bayly, William H. 
Beale, George N. 

H. Doc. 55: 



MEMBERS. 

Bean, B. A. 
Beitzell, A. E. 
Bell, Maj. James E. 
Bensinger, Samuel. 
Besselievre, S. J. 
Bieber, Lieut. Sidney. 
Black, A. B. 
Block, S. J. 
Blout, Isaac L. 
Brady, John B. 
Bramhall, Col. W. L. 
Brennan, P. J. 
Bridget, B. M. 
Brooks, Maj. Arthur. 



Brooks, Capt. N. M. 
Brown, Col. Wm. Wallace. 
Brownell, Fred H. 
Bryan, W. B. 
Buckley, Dr. E. L. 
Bugher, Capt. Frederick H. 
Burger, J. C. S. 
Burton, E. L. 
Calver, Dr. Thomas. 
Cardozo, F. L., jr. 
Carmody, J. R. 
Carrington, Maj. J. McD. 
Carry, Albert. 
Carver, Frank N. 



146 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



Castleberg, Robert. 
Chamberlin, S. E. 
Chase, B. F. 
Christman, P. H. 
Claudy, Frank. 
Clay, Col. Cecil. 
Collins, W. H. 
Combes, Edward R. 
Cook, C. F. 
Copeland, Arthur. 
Corson, George E. 
Cranford, Percy. 
Crawley, W. C. 
Cross, Samuel A. 
Cutler, L. B. 
Daish, John B. 
Daley, Frank P. 
Danenhower, Washington. 
Darr, Charles W. 
Davis, James S. 
Dawson, Clarence E. 
Deloe, W. W. 
Dempf, Jos. A. 
Dessez, Leon E. 
Dodge. T. Conrad. 
Dony, James H. 
Dowling, Frank. 
Droop, E. H. 
Dunbar, U. S. J. 
Du Perow, M. 
Dyrenforth, Gen. R. St. G. 
Eberly, S. P. 
Edgar, J. M. 
Edmonds, I. K. 
Edmondston, Samuel H. 
Edmonston, C. R. 
Edson, John Joy, jr. 
Emerson, R. P. 
Ergood, Jesse C. 
Espey, John B. 
Falck, Joseph G. 
Farnsworth, Calvin. 
Fenning, F. A. 
Field, George. 
Fischer, Victor G. 
Fisk, Howard. 
Fleming, George E. 
Foote, George F. 
Ford, James M . 
Francis, A. W. 
Francis, Dr. John R. 
Franklin, R. L. 
Friedlander, Harry. 
Galloway, Jno. R. 



Gannon, Lawrence C. 
Gans, Isaac. 
Geare, R. I. 
Geddes, Andrew. 
Gillman, Howard M. 
Girouard, Alphonse. 
Glassie, D. W. 
Gleeson, Andrew. 
Gliem, Christian P. 
Goldenberg, I. 
Goodheart, Briscoe. 
Graham, George D. 
Grayson, D. C. 
Greenlees, D. Agnew. 
Gregory, Hamilton I. 
Grimes, A. V. 
Grove, Bernard L. 
Gunnell, John H. 
Guy, B. W. 
Hains, Comdr. R. P. 
Hallam, O. B. 
Hanvey, Frank L. 
Haradon, E. A. 
Hart, Abraham. 
Hart, William F. 
Heald, Eugene de F. 
Hecht, Alexander. 
Henderson, John M. 
Hendley, Charles M. 
Henry, J. William. 
Herbst, William P. 
Hess, David M. 
Hibbs, W. C. 
Hodges, Lieut. Benj. 
Hodges, W. R. 
Hodgkins, Chas. E. 
Hoehling, A. A., jr. 
Hopkins, Frank E. 
Hopkins, Lieut. Comdr. 

S. G. 
Howells, S. D. 
Hunt, C. B. 
Hunter, Maj. R. W. 
Jackson, Frank H. 
Jacobson, Samuel H. 
Johnson, Maj. A. E. H. 
Johnson, Rich. A. 
Johnston, E. C. 
Johnston, Maj. J. A., 

U. S. A. 
Joyce, George W. 
Joyce, Col. John A. 
Kehoe, H. J. 
Kemper, Chas. E. 



Kern, Chas. E. 
Kimball, Dr. E. S. 
King, Charles. 
King, Warrenton C. 
Kline, Jno. M. 
Kniffin, Col. G. C. 
Kraemer, Charles. 
Kramer, S. E. 
Kopf, Bernard. 
Karr, C. F. 
Laist, Theodore F. 
Langley, Charles A. 
Lanham, Trueman. 
Lansburgh, James. 
Lansburgh, Julius. 
Leary, H. B. 
Lee, Jesse B. K. 
Leesnitzer, E. L. 
Leetch, John. 
Lewis, M. M. 
Linkins, George W. 
Lloyd, J. H. 
Loeffler, Capt. Charles. 
Loffler, Andrew. 
Lomax, Gen. L. L. 
Looker, Capt. H. B. 
Loose\ J. Louis. 
Lutz, Frank A., jr. 
McCullough, N. N. 
McElderry, S. W. 
Mclntire, W. C. 
McKee, H. H. 
McLaughlin, A. E. 
McLean, Edward B. 
McLean, Wallace D. 
Mackey, Franklin H. 
Martin, Thomas R. 
Mattingly, Lieut. F. C. 
Maynard, Geo. C. 
Megrew, Maj. H. C. 
Middleton, Col. John. 
Morsell, Herndon. 
Morton, J. B. 
Moseley, E. A. 
Moser, J. H. 
Muehler, George J. 
Neumeyer, Maj. E. H. 
Nicholson, J. E. 
Norton, Col. H. D. 
Noske, C. F. 
O'Bryon, Philip M. 
O'Donnell, James A. 
Ogram, Dr. T. E. 
O'Hare, Owen. 



Personnel of Committees. 



147 



O'Neill, W. H. 
Ordway, N. G. 
Ourand, Maj. Chas. H. 
Oyster, George M., jr. 
Parker, Andrew. 
Parmenter, Maj. H. H. 
Parris, Joseph. 
Patterson, W. B. 
Patton, Capt. Edward E. 
Peale, Dr. A. C. 
Pearce, W. H. 
Peddle, William R. 
Pelz, Paul J. 
Perhani, A. S. 
Pfeiffer, D. G. 
Pitzer, Frank. 
Poindexter, W. M. 
Purman, Dr. J. J. 
Pyle, F. B. 
Quinn, M. J. 
Rapley, E. E. 
Rau, J. C. 
Rauscher, Charle 
Reed, W. T. 
Reilly, Hugh. 
Rich, L. 
Richards, W. P. 
Rick, George C. 



Ring, T. M. 
Riordou, Raymond. 
Robbins, Capt. Alfred P. 
Robinson, Chas. M. 
Ronieyn, Maj. Henry, 

U. S. A. 
Rudden, John. 
Ryder, S. M. 
Scott, John B. 
Sefton, W. M. 
Shea, James F. 
Sheehy, Francis P. 
Shehan, George A. 
Slemen, J. B., jr. 
Smithmeyer, J. L. 
Springman, Fred. 
Springman, John T. 
Stone, Dr. Chas. G. 
Stump, Edward B. 
Swayze, Theodore F. 
Talty, T. J. 
Tappan, Myron A. 
Taylor, Blain W. 
Thorp, Capt. M. R. 
Todd,W. E.,jr. 
Tolson, Julius W. 
Towles, Henry O. 
Townley, Lieut. R. H. 



Toy, Joseph C. 
Traylor, J. G. 
Tuckey, William W. 
Tweedale, Maj. John, 

U. S. A. 
Tyssowski, A. Z. 
Urell, Col. M. E. 
Van Dyke, Harry W. 
Waddell, Hugh. 
Waggaman, George E. 
Warwick, R. T. 
Weller, Francis R. 
Whitaker, Gen. E. W. 
White, L.C. 
White, Oscar W. 
Whitney, T. M. 
Wight, Lloyd B. 
Willett, W. T. 
Williams, L. B. 
Wolf, A. G. 
Wolff, J. H. 
Worden, C. H. 
Yarrow, John. 
Yoder, Gen. S. S. 
Yost, John C. 
Young, F. J. 



COMMITTEE ON PRESS. 



Theodore W. Noyes, chairman. 



Gen. H. V. Boynton, vice-chairman. 



G. A. Lyon, jr., secretary. 



MEMBERS. 



Albert, A. D. (Baltimore Sun). 

Allen, Charles H. (Washington Post). 

Atkins, Addison B. (Brooklyn Eagle). 

Ayres, A. S. ( Scripps-McRae Press Asso- 
ciation ) . 

Barry, David S. (New York Sun). 

Bell, W. R. (Philadelphia North Amer- 
ican). 

Bill, Edward Lyman (Music Trade Re- 
view). 

Bingham, William T. (New York Sun). 

Blythe, Samuel G. (New York World). 

Bone, Scott C. (Washington Post). 

Boyle, John (Norfolk Virginian). 

Boynton, Charles A. (Associated Press). 

Brady, E. W. (Baltimore News). 

Brown, Harry J. (Portland Oregouian). 

Bryan, W. B. (Evening Star). 

Busbey, L. W. (Chicago Inter-Ocean). 



Campbell, C. W. (Philadelphia Inquirer). 

Carmichael, Otto (Detroit Journal). 

Carmody, Francis J. (Duluth News-Tri- 
bune). 

Carpenter, Frank G., Washington, D. C. 

Carson, John M. (Philadelphia Public 
Ledger ) . 

Cauldwell, F. W. (Wilkesbarre Record). 

Clark, Walter E. (New Haven Register). 

Cline, S. S. (Washington Post). 

Conant, Charles A. (New York Journal of 
Commerce). 

Coolidge, L. A. (Boston Journal). 

Coyle, Wilbur F. (Baltimore Herald). 

Crane, M. E. (Boston Herald). 

Crounse, W. L. (Detroit Free Press). 

Curtis, William E. (Chicago Record). 

Daniels, W. S. (St. Louis Republic). 

Dodge, A. J, (St. Paul Pioneer Press). 



148 



Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



Dunn, Arthur W. (Associated Press). 

Dunnell, E. G. (New York Times). 

Edwards, C. A. (Houston Post). 

Edwards, W. A. (Kansas City Times). 

Fearn, Richard Lee (New York Tribune). 

Fry, Smith D. (Philadelphia Times). 

Gardner, H. Gilson ( Chicago Journal ) . 

Garthe, Louis (Baltimore American). 

Genthe, Siegfried (Cologne Gazette). 

Gibson, Edgar J. (Philadelphia Press). 

Gregg, Isaac ( Pittsburg News ) . 

Habercom, L.W.( Milwaukee Germania). 

Hall, Henry (Pittsburg Times). 

Halstead, Albert (Brooklyn Standard- 
Union). 

Hamilton, Charles A. (Brooklyn Times). 

Heiss, A. E. (Pittsburg Dispatch). 

Henry, James S. (Philadelphia Dispatch). 

Hosford, Frank H. (Chicago Dispatch). 

Ihmsen, Max F. (New York Journal). 

Jenks, J. E. (Arm}' and Navy Register). 

Jermane, W. W. (Minneapolis Journal). 

Johnson, F. A. (Minneapolis Tribune). 

Johnson, S. E. (Cincinnati Enquirer). 

Jones, Van Culleu. 

Kemp, Henry G. (Baltimore Sun). 

King, W. P. ( Scripps-McRae Press Asso- 
ciation ) . 

Landon, Hal. D. (Cincinnati Commercial 
Tribune). 

Lamer, R. M. (Charleston News). 

Leupp, Francis E. (New York Evening 
Post). 

Little, E. S. (San Francisco Bulletin). 

Low, A. Maurice (Boston Globe). 

MacBride, W. C. (Cincinnati Enquirer). 

McPherson, W. L. (New York Tribune). 

Mason, William M. (Army and Navy 
Journal ) . 

Matthews, R. Bowman (New Orleans 
Picayune). 

Merrick, H. L. (Columbus Press). 

Metzgar, Charles W. (Albany Journal). 

Michinard, Frank. 

Miller, Albert (Kansas City Star). 

Miller, George E. (Detroit Evening 
News). 

Miller, John H. (Washington Times). 

Miller, John P. (Philadelphia Telegraph). 

Morgan, F. P. (Boston Traveler). 

Nesbitt, H. B. (Pittsburg Press). 



O'Brien, Robert L. (Boston Transcript). 

Ohl, J. K. (Atlanta Constitution). 

O'Laughlin, Cal. (New York Herald). 

Oulahan, R. V. (New York Sun). 

Paine, Elmer E. (Associated Press). 

Patterson, Raymond (Chicago Tribune). 

Richardson, F. A. (Baltimore Sun). 

Ridenour, Charles H. (Army and Navy 
Register). 

Sarvis, J. M. (New York Daily News). 

Schrader, Fred F. (Kansas City Journal). 

Schroeder, Reginald (New York Staats- 
Zeitung) . 

Seckendorff, M. G. (New York Tribune). 

Shannon, J. Harvey ( Washington Times). 

Shaw, W. B. (Philadelphia Inquirer). 

Shinn, C. M. (Evening Star). 

Shriver, John S. (New York Mail and 
Express). 

Siggers, E. J. 

Snowden, Harold (Alexandria Gazette). 

Snyder, E. C. (Omaha Bee). 

Splain, Maurice (Pittsburg Post). 

Spurgeon, W. P. ( Washington Post ) . 

Stadden, Corry M. (Columbus Dispatch). 

Starek, Fred. (Cleveland Leader). 

Stealey, Col. O. O (Louisville Courier- 
Journal ) . 

Stevens, H. C. (Buffalo Times). 

Stevens, Walter B. (St. Louis Globe-Dem- 
ocrat). 

Stofer, A. J. (Scripps-McRae Press Asso- 
ciation). 

Sullivan, F. E. (Chicago Chronicle). 

Suter, John T., jr. (Chicago Record). 

Thompson, Charles T. (Associated Press). 

Thompson, Howard N. (Associated 
Press). 

Van Antwerp, J. S. (Minneapolis Jour- 
nal). 

Waldeck, Jacob (Scripps-McRae Press 
Association). 

Walker, E. G. (Lewiston Journal). 

Watkins, J. E., jr., Washington, D. C. 

Wellman, Walter (Chicago Times- 
Herald). 

West, Henry L. (Washington Post). 

Williams, John C. (New York Herald). 

Williams, Ralph D. (Cleveland Plain 
Dealer). 

Wynne, Robert J. (New York Press). 



Personnel of Committees. 

COMMITTEE ON MEDALS AND BADGES. 



W. P. Van Wickle, chairman. 
Clarence Corson, treasurer. 



George B. Pitts, asst. secretary 



Simon Wolf, vice-chairman. 
Edward T. Bates, secretary. 



I 49 



Appich, Jacob. 
Archibald, C. C. 
Arnold, J. DeWitt. 
Ayer, William N. 
Babcock, Harry A. 
Bache, Rene M. 
Bailey, George H. 
Ballantyne, R. C. 
Barber, Charles E. 
Beale. C. F. T. 
Beck, Henry K. 
Becker, Conrad. 
Beck with, Paul. 
Berliner, Emile. 
Brigham, H. H. 
Brockett, Paul. 
Brown, Dorsey. 
Buck, John R. 
Burk, W. H. 
Burke, Moncure. 
Caldwell, Col. Luther. 
Cameron, Col. John. 
Cardozo, F. L. 
Carusi, Eugene D. 
Chase, Col. J. M. 
Clark, A. Howard. 
Clark, Appleton P., jr. 
Clark, William F. 
Conboye, G. Fred. 
Crane, Edward A. 
Cushing, Henry. 
Davis, Arthur P. 
Day, Dr. David T. 
Dodge, C. R. 
Dodge, H. H. 
Domer, W. A. 
Draper, H. W. 
Droop, Carl A. 
Dunlop, G. Thomas. 
Eaton, Horace W. 



Ely, S. M. 
Gifford, John C. 
Gifford, Loren E. 
Gillard, George E. 
Gould, A. M. 
Govern, Charles J. 
Graff, Charles. 
Grant, Alexander. 
Grice, Francis E. 
Hall, Henry O. 
Hardie, J. C. 
Harris, Findley. 
Haskell, Col. William C. 
Hastings, J. Syme. 
Hawxhurst, J. M. 
Heiberger, F, J. , jr. 
Hendricks, Arthur. 
Hibbard, William W. 
Hill, E. Lodge. 
Hodgkins, Prof. H. L. 
Hopkins, Thomas S. 
Hough, Dr. Walter. 
Howard, Clifford. 
Howe, Dr. F. T. 
Hungerford, W. A. 
Jarvis, John F. 
Johnson, Dr. H. L. E. 
Jones, Harry S. 
Judd, George H. 
Kaiser, Edward T. 
Karr, W. W. 
Korts, Charles H. 
Kranz, G. Fred. 
La Dow, R. V. 
Larner, Philip F. 
Lavender, F. J. 
Lay, Capt. Thomas W. 
Lynch, John, jr. 
McFarland, W. A. 
Mades, Charles. 



Marshall, J. R. 

Miller, Benjamin. 

Moses, Harry C. 

Moss, Henry N. 

Nye, Francis. 

Offutt, A. E. 

Palmer, William J. 

Parker, B. W. 

Parsons, A. J. 

Pittman, F. L. 

Prince, A. D. 

Ray, Charles. 

Roberts, Hon. George E. 

Rogers, W. E. 

Rupprecht, H. E. 

Samson, Henry W. 

Shaw, W. B., jr. 

Simpson, G. Warfield. 
Smith, F. G., jr. 
s P ri gg. Dr. William Mer- 
cer. 
Stead, Robert. 
Stodder, C. W. P. 
Stone, Robert L. 
Strasburger, Joseph. 
Swartzell, M. F. F. 
Swormstedt, Dr. L. B. 
Townsend, C. H. 
Tulloch, S. W. 
Van Deusen, Albert H. 
Walker, Frank. 
Ward, Lieut. Henry H., 

U. S. N. 
White, W. A. 
Whitehead, Cabell. 
Wilson, William McC. 
Woodward, Thomas P. 
Young, C. F. 



150 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

PRINTING COMMITTEE. 



Beriah Wilkins, chairman. 
Edwin C. Jones, secretary. 



Barry Bulkley, vice-chairman. 
E. F. Riggs, asst. secretary. 



Acker, Dr. G. N. 
Adams, B. S. 
Anderson, E. W. 
Andrews, R. P. 
Arnold, Eugene F. 
Ashton, J. H. 
Bacon, George A. 
Baum, William H. 
Becker, Victor J. 
Bennett, Frank V. 
Biggs, W. W. 
Black, W. H. 
Blackford, B. Lewis. 
Bliss, A. O. 
Bonney, B. W. 
Boteler, J. W. 
Boyd, W. Andrew. 
Brandt, E. S. 
Brian, Capt. H. T. 
Brown, Ellis W. 
Bryan, C. C. 
Buckey, Thomas W. 
Bulkley, R. W. 
Burchell, N. L. 
Callaghan, John T. 
Carmody, J. D. 
Carson, Perry. 
Caywood, A. S. 
Chase, P. B. 
Cissel, Frank. 
Clark, Allen C. 
Clarke, S. A. 
Clayton, W. McK. 
Clifford, E. A. 
Cochran, Eugene. 
Cohen, William K. 
Collins, Guy V. 
Copperthite, Henry. 
Cotterill, C. A. 
Cowsill, Arthur. 
Crichton, Dr. Macpherson. 
Cropley, Charles B. 
Cropper, John. 
Curry, Daniel. 
Cutter, E. C. 
Darrell, L. P. 
Dennison, Dr. I. W. 
Dinsmore, A. F. 



Donaldson, R. S. 
Dorsey, H. W., jr. 
Driver, George W. 
Dungan, Irvine. 
Dunlap, Irving H. 
Edwards, Joseph S. 
Evans, Frank M. 
Fairfax, Chas. W. 
Ferguson, A. F. 
Fickling, Charles H. 
Fleming, John. 
Fowler, Charles D. 
Fox, Edmund K. 
Freeman, Frank L. 
Fulenwider, John E. 
Galliher, W. T. 
Gatley, W. A. 
Gill, W. S. 
Gillet, C. J. 
Gillin, David. 
Geddes, William M. 
George, 0. B. 
Goldsmith, M. 
Graham, Dr. R. H. 
Gray, Edwin N. 
Green, George F. 
Grogan, Peter. 
Grosvenor, Gilbert H. 
Grove, Harry C. 
Guy, Benjamin F. 
Hahn, William. 
Halsted, John J. 
Handy, C. W. 
Happ, P. F. 
Harban, J. H. 
Harding, Theodore A. 
Hardy, Theodore H. 
Harper, J. H. 
Harrington, Edward P. 
Hart, Alphonso. 
Hawkes, Col. Benjamin F. 
Heald, John C. 
Heiskell, J. L. 
Henderson, James B. 
Henry, J. Malcolm. 
Hensey Thomas G. 
Herrmann, J. Philip. 
Hesse, Henry A. 



Hickey, John F. 
Hill, John R. 
Howe, George A. 
James, Charles J. 
Johnson, R. M. 
Johnson, V. Baldwin. 
Jones, Horace T. 
Jones, Marcus R. 
Joy, A. C. 
Joyce, R. Edwin. 
Karr, Henry C. 
Kastle, John W. 
Kaufman, D. J. 
Keen, Edwin S. 
Keene, J. R. 
Kehoe, W. J. 
King, B. C. 
Kinnear, J. B. 
Kirby, Thomas. 
Knight, Hervey S. 
Knowles, W. A. 
Knox, John 0. 
Lancaster, Chas. C. 
Lay, T. A. 
Leet, Grant. 
Lucas, M. G. 
McCalmont, Edw. S. 
McNally, W. J. 
McPherson, Donald W. 
Marcellus, Robert H. 
Marston, Capt. H. P. 
Mattingly, S. L. 
Matson, Walter T. 
Ma}', George J. 
Mayer, Alfred. 
Mertz, George L. 
Meyer, N. S. 
Middleton, Alpheus. 
Mills, Dr. William P. 
Mitchell, John, jr. 
Mitchell, R. L. 
Moore, David. 
Moore, Jacob. 
Moque, J. O. 
Morris, Ballard N. 
Neale, H. S. 
Newbold, T. R. 
Nolen, A. S. 



Personnel of Committees. 



151 



Odell, Col. W. S. 
Olive, W. S. 
Pairo, Richard E. 
Penicks, Thomas B. 
Pettit, E. L. 
Polkinhorn, J. H. 
Prescott, S. J. 
Prince, Capt. Howard L, 
Proctor, W. H. 
Pyles, George F. 
Ramsay, William. 
Rankin, J . N. 
Ransom, J. C. 
Rice, Creighton. 
Richardson, William W. 
Ricketts, 0. J . 
Rideout, John. 
Robinson, Bushrod. 
Roche, Edw. J. 
Rogers, C. C. 
Rose, Dr. J. N. 
Rosenberg, Maurice D. 
Rupp, W. H. 
Samson, Dr. George C. 
Saul, John A. 
Schneider, Charles F. 



Schneider, John A. 
Scott, Alexander. 
Shand, Miles M. 
Shaw, Edgar M. 
Shillington, Joseph. 
Sholes, W. H. 
Shuster, William M. 
Simpson, Horton. 
Simpson, James C. 
Smillie, T. W. 
Smith, Francis H. 
Stejneger, Dr. Leonhard. 
Stevens, E. C. 
Stiles, H. C. C. 
Stinemetz, S. W. 
Stone, Dr. T. Ritchie. 
Strasburger, Myer. 
Sturtevant, Charles L. 
Stutler, Warner. 
Sullivan, R. E. 
Swormstedt, J. S. 
Syphax, John E. 
Teel, W. S. 
Tenney, Robert B. 
Thomas, W. Francis. 
Thompson, C. N. 



Thompson, W. S., jr. 
Tindall, Philip. 
Tolman, Edward M. 
Tolson, Morsell. 
Turpin, P. B. 
Veerhoff, William H. 
Voorhees, J. H. 
Walker, Ernest G. 
Walker, R. W. 
Wallace, William J. 
Walton, Maj. Clifford S. 
Ward, H. G. 
Webster, Edward. 
Weill, Nathan. 
Wells, James. 
Werner, Charles. 
West, William D. 
Whiting, E. E. 
Whitmore, W. S. 
Wickersham, T. A. 
Wilkins, F. G. 
Wilson, B. B. 
Wilson, Harry C. 
Wilson, Louis C. 
Wood, Court F. 
Young, J. D. 



COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC COMFORT AND ORDER. 



Col. James G. Berret, chairman. 
Maj. Richard Sylvester, secretary. 



William S. Knox, vice-chairman. 
E. B. Hesse, assistant secretary. 



Acheson, M. H. 
Acker, Walter H. 
Albert, Allen D., jr. 
AtLee, Goodwin. 
Ball, Charles B. 
Berry, J. E. 
Bickford, Nathan. 
Bond, George M. 
Bowen, James G. 
Brandenburg, C. A. 
Brittain, William B. 
Bronson, W. S. 
Brooks, Hobart. 
Brown, Solomon G. 
Brown, Stephen C. 
Bryant, Rev. S. L. 
Bugher, Capt. F. H. 
Bundy, C. S. 
Burch, H. C. 
Burdette, Le Blounde. 
Cadick, Thomas W. 



MEMBERS. 

Cady, H. A. 
Callahan, John. 
Cardozo, Dr. F. J. 
Carew, A. J. 
Carr, Dr. W. P. 
Chapin, Dr. A. 
Christman, Howard L. 
Clapp, Woodbridge. 
Clark, E. S. 
Collamer, Newton L. 
Colton, H. V. 
Cook, Dr.G. W. 
Corby, Charles I. 
Cox, Dr. S. Clifford. 
Cromwell, J. W. 
Crook, Dr. Harrison. 
Crosson, Dr. H. J. 
Darby, Rufus W. 
Darling, Dr. H. 
Davenport, Rev. W. G. 
Davis, Dr. Charles A. 



Demonet, J. A. 
Detweiler, F. M. 
Devine, John T. 
De Vries, Dr. J. Carlisle. 
DeWitt, Gasherie. 
De Zapp, Rudolph. 
Dickson, Col. William. 
Dietrich, A. L. 
Dodge, W. C. 
Dorsey, N. W. 
Dowling, Dr. Thomas. 
Downey, W. F. 
Droop, E. F. 
Dwyer, William J. 
Eberly, August F. 
Evans, Dr. W. B. 
Ewin, James L. 
Filler, Dr. Charles W. 
Finckel, William H. 
Fishburn, Rev. M. Ross. 
Flint, Weston. 



152 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



Fowler, Dr. William C. 
Franzoni, J. D. 
Freeman, John T. 
French, Dr. W.B. 
Frisby, Prof. Edgar. 
Fulton, H. K. 
Gage, N. P. 
Garges, Daniel E. 
Gatchell, J. Fred. 
Georges, J. J. 
Gheen, John H. 
Gibson, William. 
Gill, Herbert A. 
Glazebrook, Dr. L. W. 
Gotta, Robert C. 
Graham, Andrew. 
Graham, Thomas. 
Graves, Edward. 
Gray, W. Bruce. 
Grimshaw, W. H. 
Griswold, H. A. 
Grosvenor Asa W. 
Crumley, E. C. 
Hainer, E. H. 
Haley, W. A. 
Hammett, Dr. Whitt. 
Hannan, E. J. 
Harper, W. M. 
Harris, James H. 
Haycock, R. L. 
Hege, S. B. 

Henderson, Dr. George. 
Henderson, R. W. 
Hitchcock, F. H. 
Hodges, Dr. J. Walter. 
Holerith, Herman. 
Holloway, J. L. 
Holverson, Thomas. 
Honn, William H. 
Hoover, Smith. 
Houghton, W. H. 
Howenstein, H. R. 
Howenstein, W. 0. 
Hubbard, Jerome. 
Huyck, J. V. N. 
Jarvis, Thomas. 
Jewell, T. B. 
Johnson, A. Geary. 
Johnson, C. A. 
Johnson, Dr. Joseph Taber. 
Johnson, E. L. 
Jordon, E. L. 
Keenan, J. R. 
Keen, George T. 



Keene, J. G. 
Keidel, Charles, jr. 
Kenned}-, John L. 
Kenney, C. D. 
Kimball, Dr. E. G. 
Kimball, W. H. 
Kingsman, Dr. Richard. 
Knox, George V. 
Lackey, James. 
Lamb, A. R. 
Latimer, Dr. C. M. N. 
Lee, J. William. 
Leech, William P. 
Legge, John F. 
Lewis, Herbert W. 
Lewis, H. W. 
Lindsay, Melville. 
Livingston, C. H. 
Lochboehler, Dr. G. E. 
Lock wood, E. J. 
Lothrop, Dr. Edward S. 
Lown, W. G. 
Luchs, Joseph. 
Luckett, Joseph E. 
MacLeod, D. B. 
McCaully, B. F. 
McConnell, W. M. 
McComb, D. E. 
McCubbin, Charles J. 
McDermott, F. P. 
McDonald, Dr. T. L. 
McKenney, F. D. 
McNeil, J. L. 
McQuade, E. J. 
McReynolds, F. W. 
Marmion, Dr. William V. 
Mears, Otto. 
Meeds, Benjamin N. 
Merkle, W. W. 
Mertz, Edward P. 
Miller, Francis. 
Mills, Harrington. 
Mills, Judge Samuel C. 
Montgomery, Dr. W. S. 
Moore, M. W. 
Moot, Rev. Fred. W. 
Moulton, Hosea B. 
Muddiman, C. A. 
Murphy, D. I. 
Myers, William F. 
Nalley, W. E. 
Nailor, Wash. T. 
Naylor, Dr. Henry R. 
Newman, E. A. 



Nee, P. J. 

Nickerson, A. Howitt. 
Nicolaides, Kimon. 
Nolan, John J. 
Orme, J. W. 
Osborn, A. G. 
Palmer, Samuel C. 
Paret, John F. 
Patten, Dr. Alphonse. 
Peitz, H. 
Perkins, L. L. 
Pillsbury, E. H. 
Pipes, Capt. J. M. 
Polkinhorn, H. B. 
Pool, Dr. B. G. 
Porter, W. W. 
Powell, J. Tyler. 
Powell, W. B. 
Pyles, Dr. R. A. 
Ramsburgh, Dr. Jesse. 
Randall, E. S. 
Randle, A. E. 
Reed, A. L. 
Reiss, Benjamin W. 
Riley, Thomas R. 
Rines, L. C. 
Rizer, Col. H. C. 
Rowe, H. S. 

Santelmann, Lieut. W. H. 
Saul, B. F. 

Saunders, William H. 
Schaefer, Louis M. 
Schneider, Charles. 
Serven, A. Ralph. 
Shannon, Andrew C. 
Shaw, Alfred. 
Shaw, B. F. 

Shoulters, Dr. George H. 
Sidwell, Thomas W. 
Simmons, Arthur. 
Small, Robert. 
Smith, Frank E. 
Smith, H. H. 
Smith, John W. F. 
Smith, W. Hamilton. 
Snyder, E. H. 
Speare, W. R. 
Stearns, Dr. S. S. 
Stephenson, A. H. 
Stern, Rabbi L. 
Stone, Dr. Isaac S. 
Stone, Israel W. 
Stoughtenburgh, W. H. 
Strongman, George W. 



Personnel of Committees. 



J 53 



Studds, Colin. 
Sweeny, T. W. 
Talty, M. F. 
Tassin, Wirt. 
Taylor, Judge A. S. 
Thom, George. 
Thompson, John B. 
Tobriner, Leon. 
Tophatn, Washington. 
Treutlen, Col. John F. 
Truell, Edwin M. 
Tschiffely, F. A., jr. 



Turk, W. A. 
Tyssowski, T. M. 
Van Schaick, Rev. John, jr. 
Vincent, Thomas N. 
Wade, G. Taylor. 
Walker, W. H. 
Walsh, Dr. John E. 
Weaver, W. T. 
Whelpley, J. W. 
White, R. E. L. 
Wilber, E. A. 
Wilkerson, Agur. 



Wilkins, Eugene B. 
Wilkinson, Dr. A. B. 
William, Harry. 
Williams, Wash. B. 
Wines, M. J. 
Winter, Dr. John T. 
Wolf, Alexander. 
Woodruff, Edmund W. 
Woodward, Dr. William C. 
Worch, Hugo. 
Xander, Henry. 
Zimmerman, J. W. 



AUDITING COMMITTEE. 



John W. Thompson, chairman 



E. Southard Parker, vice-chairman. 



Armstrong, George E. 
Athey, John C. 
Ballinger, M. A. 
Bartlett, Maj. G. A. 
Beebe, Charles G. 
Bergman, William. 
Berry, Edgar P. 
Beyer, Louis, jr. 
Bunch, Robert E. Lee. 
Burchard, William. 
Colvin, J. 
Culp, J. M. 
DeCaindry, W. A. 
Eckloff, J. C. 
Finckel, C. K. 
Flather, W. J. 
Frasier, James. 
Goldsmith, J. S. 



J. W. Babson, secretary. 
MEMBERS. 

Gray, Frederick. 
Gray, Hamilton K. 
Harbin, George F. 
Henry, J. W. 
Holt, H. P. R. 
Hood, James F. 
Hunt, Conway B. 
Johnson, J. R. 
Kennedy, J. W. 
King, John F. 
Lewis, Capt. George C. 
Lewis, W. C. 
MacLannan, W. F. 
Maderia, F. P. 
McKenzie, Alexander. 
McLean, Harry C. 
Moore, J. Gales. 
Moses, Brice J. 



Pearsall, Thomas C. 
Petty, J. T. 
Ridenour, Upton. 
Robinson, N. E. 
Rogers, Charles C. 
Ruff, A. B. 
Russell, R. L. 
Sioussa, A. W. 
Smith, Odell S. 
Staley, Edwin King. 
Stier, F. A. 
Walker, Ernest. 
Walker, Martin. 
Watson, J. M. A. 
Weaver, F. Baker. 
White, Charles E. 
Williams, C. P. 
Wood, Eugene R. 



POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES. 



POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES. 



JOINT COMMITTEE. 

This committee, composed of the select committees from 
the United States Senate and House of Representatives, the 
committee from the country at large, and the citizens' com- 
mittee from the District of Columbia, shall prepare plans and 
direct the holding of an appropriate national celebration in 
the year 1900 of the centennial anniversary of the first session 
of Congress in the District of Columbia and the establishment 
of the seat of government therein. 

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 

This committee shall possess all powers of the joint com- 
mittee at times when it is impracticable to call a meeting of 
the latter. 

SELECT COMMITTEE FROM THE SENATE. 

This committee shall act with the committees appointed 
from the House of Representatives, the country at large, and 
the citizens of the District of Columbia in holding fitting 
ceremonies of the centennial anniversary of the first session 
of Congress in the District of Columbia and the establish- 
ment of the seat of government therein. 

SELECT COMMITTEE FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

This committee shall act with the committees appointed 
from the Senate, the country at large, and the citizens of the 
District of Columbia in holding fitting ceremonies of the cen- 
tennial anniversary of the first session of Congress in the 
District of Columbia and the establishment of the seat of 
government therein. 



158 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

COMMITTEE FROM THE COUNTRY AT LARGE. 

This committee, composed of one person from each State 
and Territory of the Union, appointed by the President of the 
United States, shall act with the committees appointed from 
the Senate and House of Representatives and the citizens of 
the District of Columbia in holding fitting ceremonies of the 
centennial anniversary of the first session of Congress in the 
District of Columbia and the establishment of the seat of 
government therein. 

CITIZENS' COMMITTEE. 

This committee shall act as general committee, and shall 
have supervising charge of all citizens' committees and all 
matters pertaining to the celebration delegated to it by the 
joint committee. Its chairman shall have the power to appoint 
such officers, agents, and subcommittees as may be necessary. 
It shall authorize expenditures, and without its express 
approval no expenditures of money shall be made, no indebt- 
edness incurred, nor any contract be entered into by any 
officer or subcommittee; and no indebtedness will be recog- 
nized or paid except for the amount thus expressly authorized. 
It shall be furnished copies of all contracts before the same 
shall take effect and copies of all correspondence conducted 
by all subcommittees. Full reports shall be furnished it at 
least once a week by all subcommittees, or as much oftener 
as the chairman of this committee may require. When the 
committee is not in session its chairman shall exercise all 
its functions and authority, reporting his action at the next 
meeting so far as practicable. Through its treasurer, the 
committee shall keep an accurate account of all moneys 
received from any source, all appropriations authorized, and 
all disbursements made. 

COMMITTEE ON RECEPTION. 

This committee shall have charge of all matters pertaining 
to the reception to be held on the evening of the day of cele- 
bration, and shall extend invitations to and receive distin- 
guished guests, including the President of the United States, 



Powers and Duties of Committees. 159 

the members of the Cabinet, Senators and Representatives, 
justices of the United States Supreme Court and Court of 
Claims, justices of the District of Columbia supreme court 
and court of appeals, officers of the Army and Navy, the Gov- 
ernors of the several States and Territories, the Commis- 
sioners of the District of Columbia, and such others as may 
be designated. This committee shall also perform such other 
functions as usually devolve upon a reception committee. 

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. 

This committee shall raise sufficient funds to meet the 
expenses of the celebration, giving suitable acknowledgment 
to all contributors, and when such funds are collected they 
shall be turned over to the treasurer of the citizens' com- 
mittee, who shall keep a proper record of all receipts and 
disbursements. 

COMMITTEE ON EXERCISES AT THE EXECUTIVE MANSION. 

This committee shall, in conjunction with the President of 
the United States and his secretary, prepare and have gen- 
eral charge of the exercises to be held at the Executive 
Mansion. 

COMMITTEE ON EXERCISES AT THE CAPITOL. 

This committee shall act on behalf of the citizens of the 
District of Columbia, with the President pro tempore of the 
Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
select committees from the Senate and House of Represent- 
atives, and the committee from the country at large, in pre- 
paring for and holding commemorative exercises in the Hall 
of the House of Representatives in honor of the centennial 
anniversary of the first session of Congress in the permanent 
capital. It shall also be the duty of this committee to pre- 
pare and obtain such legislation as may be required for 
holding such exercises, and to receive and care for guests 
invited to the same, as well as to provide for the construc- 
tion of reviewing stand or stands in front of the Capitol, if 
necessary. 



160 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

COMMITTEE ON PARADE AND DECORATIONS. 

This committee shall determine the extent and character 
of the parade and have charge of all matters pertaining to 
the same; secure decorations for and decorate the line of 
march, as well as such other streets and avenues as might 
be deemed desirable, and the national and city government 
buildings; and the chairman of the committee, in connection 
with the chairmen of the committees on reception, exercises 
at the Executive Mansion, and exercises at the Capitol, shall 
engage all necessary music for the entire celebration. 

PRESS COMMITTEE. 

This committee shall collect and disseminate correct infor- 
mation in regard to the celebration, giving it as much pub- 
licity as the event would seem to justify, and arrange for the 
accommodation of and facilities for the press. 

COMMITTEE ON MEDALS AND BADGES. 

This committee shall cause to be prepared designs for the 
commemorative medal, committee badges and buttons, as well 
as buttons for general distribution, together with a state- 
ment of the cost thereof, and, when approved and author- 
ized by the citizens' committee or its chairman, the commit- 
tee on medals and badges shall have such medals, badges, 
and buttons prepared and distributed. 

COMMITTEE ON PRINTING. 

This committee shall have charge of the execution of such 
printing as may be referred to it by the citizens' committee, 
as well as the execution of such designing, printing or pub- 
lication as may be referred to it; and in connection with the 
chairman and secretary of the citizens' committee shall deter- 
mine upon the style and contents of the official programme 
of the celebration, and shall have charge of the execution of 
the printing of the same. 



Powers and Duties of Committees. 161 

COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC COMFORT AND ORDER. 

This committee shall cooperate with the authorities of the 
District of Columbia in determining upon and enforcing reg- 
ulations necessary to clear and so maintain the line of inarch 
of the parade, and streets requisite for formation of the same, 
and to make such other arrangements as may be necessary 
or desirable for the protection and comfort of the public. 
This committee shall also secure such reductions as it may 
be able to secure on transportation rates from different points 
in the United States to Washington; provide quarters, if 
necessary, for the Governors and their staffs, and look after 
their comfort; and provide carriages for guests, if required. 

The following rules were promulgated for the guidance of 
members of this committee: 

The chairman of the subcommittee on depots will assign members of 
his committee to the several depots, to meet the Governors and other 
distinguished guests in conformity with information as to date, time, and 
place of arrival, which he will procure from the secretar}-- of the com- 
mittee on public comfort and order. 

Committeemen detailed as above will, upon the arrival of any Gover- 
nor, comply with his wishes as to carriage service and hotel, the driver 
of any vehicle conveying such distinguished guest being instructed to 
collect for his service. 

Messenger boys will be at the bureaus of information established at 
the depots, and will be detailed to the service of any prominent guest or 
visitor. 

The chairman of the subcommittee on hotels will assign members of 
his committee to the several hotels where Governors and other distin- 
guished guests may be stopping, on the nth and 12th days of December, 
who will consult the wishes of such visitors and do anything tending to 
add to their pleasure and comfort. 

On the 1 2th day of December a carriage will be at the service of each 
Governor. The drivers subject to such call will wear a red, white, and 
blue rosette, and may be readily had by telephoning the chairman of the 
carriage committee (call 1865). 

The chairman of the subcommittee on carriages will so assign the mem- 
bers as to have carriages in waiting early on the morning of December 
12 for the several Governors, at their respective stopping places, in order 
that they may comply with the programme for the day, and to see that 
the Governors are provided with carriages for the parade in the afternoon 
and the reception in the evening. 
H. Doc. 552 n 



162 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The drivers of the Governors' carriages at the White House, the Cor- 
coran Gallery reception , and at the Capitol will wear red, white, and blue 
rosettes, be separately parked, and the chairman of the subcommittee on 
parade and ceremonies will have members of his committee present to 
see that the Governors are properly provided for at the close of the 
respective ceremonies. 
By order: 

James G. BerrET, Chairman. 
Richd. Sylvester, Secretary. 

COMMITTEE ON AUDITING. 

This committee shall examine all bills and vouchers against 
the centennial fund, ascertaining that they have been author- 
ized by the citizens' committee or its chairman, and that the 
accounts are approved for payment by the chairman of said 
committee. After such examination, if found correct and 
authorized, all bills and vouchers shall be approved by the 
chairman of the auditing committee and given the treasurer, 
who shall draw his check for the amounts of the vouchers in 
settlement thereof. The auditing committee shall also exam- 
ine and verify all statements of appropriations, of receipts or 
disbursements made by any officer or committee, and, if found 
correct and authorized, the same shall be approved by the 
chairman of the auditing committee. 



COMMITTEE MEETINGS. 



163 



COMMITTEE MEETINGS. 



October 24, 1898: Public meeting of citizens. 

November 1 : Committee of nine (subsequently constituting the citi- 
zens' committee, as designated at the next public meeting). 

December 17: Public meeting of citizens. 

January 25, 1899: Citizens' committee. 

February 2: Citizens' committee. 

October 30: Citizens' committee. 

November 6: Citizens' committee. 

November 28: Citizens' committee. 

December 7: Senate and Citizens' committees. 

December 15: Senate, House of Representatives, and Citizens' com- 
mittees. 

January 10, 1900: Citizens' committee 

January 18: Citizens' committee. 

February 14: Citizens' committee. 

February 21: Joint committee (composed of committees of the Sen- 
ate, House of Representatives, country at large, and citizens' committee). 

February 27: Executive committee (appointed at joint committee 
meeting). 

May 21: Citizens' committee. 

June 1 : Citizens' committee. 

June 16: Citizens' committee. 

August 30: Executive committee. 

August 30: Citizens' committee. 

October 24: Citizens' committee. 

October 31: Citizens' committee. 

November 2: Citizens' committee. 

November 14: Citizens' committee. 

November 24: Citizens' committee. 

November 30: Citizens' committee. 

December 7: Citizens' committee. 

December 1 1 : Joint committee. 

December 20: Citizens' committee. 

December 24: Citizens' committee. 

165 



BANQUET BY THE BOARD OF TRADE. 



167 



BANQUET BY THE BOARD OF TRADE. 

[February 21, 1900.] 



The Board of Trade of Washington, which has always 
stood for the best interests of the city, and through whose 
cooperation so much has been already accomplished toward 
the improvement of the Capital, tendered a banquet to the 
Governors of the States and Territories, the members of the 
Congressional committees on the Centennial, and the Citi- 
zens' committee. 

The decorations of the banquet hall of the Arlington Hotel 
were very elaborate, and the function was brilliant in every 
detail. The hall was a blaze of light, and the floral decora- 
tions were magnificent. The chandeliers were entwined with 
smilax and ivy, in which small electric globes of red and 
white were embedded. Easter lilies, too, were conspicuous. 
The balcony, where the National Guard Brigade orchestra 
was stationed, was very becomingly adorned, and over the 
front were hung two wreaths, bearing the figures " 1S00" and 
" 1900," respectively. 

The guests were received in the parlors by Mr. John Joy 
Edson, president of the Board of Trade, and shortly after 8 
o'clock the large folding doors leading into the banquet hall 
were opened. When the guests entered the hall it was 
lighted only by green-shaded candelabrse; but suddenly there 
was flashed on the north wall a large American flag composed 
of electric lights. Surrounding the flag, flowers of various 
kinds were arranged, and beneath it was a huge bank of 
orchids, lilacs, roses, and ferns. 

The tables, arranged in the form of a gridiron with one 

side open, were exceedingly attractive, with handsome vases 

of roses and tulips. 

169 



1 70 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The menu cards were unique in design. On each were 
painted six original water-color sketches, the scenes of which 
were taken from Washington and vicinity. 

When the guests had been seated, Mr. Edson, acting as 
toastmaster, proposed the health of the President of the 
United States. At the conclusion of the dinner Mr. Edson 
announced with regret that the President was unable to 
attend, and requested Gen. George H. Harries, secretary of 
the Board of Trade, to read the following letter: 

Executive Mansion, 
Washington, February 21 , 1900. 
My Dear Sir: I regret that engagements already made will prevent 
me from accepting the very kind invitation extended me for this even- 
ing, as it would afford me much pleasure to join with the members of 
the Board of Trade in the reception and dinner to the Washington 
Centennial committee. 

The purpose of the Centennial committee, as outlined to me some 
mouths ago, met with my hearty approval, and I am glad to learn that 
good progress has been made. 

Please convey to the members of your organization and to your 
distinguished guests my congratulations and best wishes. 
Very sincerely, yours, 

William McKinley. 
Mr. John Joy Edson, 

President of the Washington Board of Trade, Washington , D. C. 

Mr. Edson then addressed the guests in the following words 
of welcome : 

It is a pleasant duty, on behalf of the Board of Trade of the citizens 
of Washington, to greet the committee called by resolution passed by 
Congress to arrange for the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary 
of the establishment of the general government in the District of 
Columbia, and to welcome them to this city. 

The occasion suggests that an account be given of the growth and 
marvelous improvements of the National Capital, from cornfields and 
mud in the year 1800 to brick, marble, and paved streets in the one 
hundred years now closing. These will be briefly referred to by- 
other speakers. It is not simply the place of residence of nearly 300,000 
people, but, vastly more important, it is the Capital of the Republic. In 
it every citizen of our country, however humble or great or remote, has 
a positive interest. 

For one hundred years it has been, and until the end of time, we 



Banquet by the Board of Trade. 171 

believe, it will be, the home of the Government of the people of the 
United States. A watchful care for its welfare and just pride in its 
becoming a model National Capital and city are closely allied, and, in 
fact, are a part of the patriotism which binds us together and makes us a 
great nation. 

It is for the purpose of rejoicing over the patriotic interest in the past 
and of increasing it in the future that this celebration was planned. It 
will not be condemned by wise men as mere show and sentiment. All 
things are not measured by the unit of values. Patriotism is a sentiment; 
devotion to the public welfare is sentimental. The glorification of great 
men and great deeds of the past are matters of sentiment, but they all 
lift us above our personal affairs and help us to do something for the 
public good, worthy of approval and remembrance. We believe that 
whatever recalls to our minds what was well done and beneficial to the 
country, what was wise and patriotic, stimulates the highest order of 
public spirit and patriotism in us and our descendants. 

We must believe, too, that whatever is done in properly ornamenting 
the National Capital is as wisely done- and as much for the practical 
benefit of the country as work on rivers and harbors or on any public 
improvement. Behind all commerce and public improvements, and 
behind the Government itself, are the intelligence and united public 
spirit of the citizens. Without these, all manner of public improvement 
and the machinery of the Government are useless. National pride and 
the patriotism of the people are the life of the Republic. 

We believe that the large amounts expended on the Capitol and 
Library buildings, and on the grounds about them, were well spent. For 
mere immediate utility, in a narrow sense, plain brick walls and board 
walks and fences would have served as well. But these classic and 
stately buildings are always object lessons. Upon the thousands of con- 
stant visitors to the Capital annually, from all parts of the country and 
the world, they make a direct uniform impression of the power and 
dignity of the Government. 

We desire that this city shall be a "fit setting" for the great capital, 
and that squalor and meanness shall not surround and mar its wonderful 
grandeur. We believe that enduring public buildings, wide streets, and 
ornamented parks, with statuary and fountain, handsome and convenient 
railway stations and terminals, attractive approaches to the city on all 
sides, south as well as north, are fit vestibules to the nation's capital, 
are the best practical investment of public funds. They inspire in the 
minds and hearts of the large and increasing, numbers who visit the 
capital a national spirit and admiration for their country, for the liberty 
and blessings they enjoy, unequaled by any other nation. 

We ask you also to believe that the citizens of Washington, fortunate 
in their residence, are as patriotic as any. They are citizens of the 
Republic, without, however, the usual ties of State, county, and town. 



172 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Their local interest and pride are centered in the capital, and to the full 
extent of their ability they earnestly desire to aid the citizens of the 
country and the authorities in making Washington City worthy in every 
respect to be the capital of the richest, the most intelligent and powerful, 
the freest and most patriotic nation in the world. 

At the close of his remarks, Mr. Edson announced that the 
special toast of the evening would be to the centennial cele- 
bration of the removal of the seat of the National Govern- 
ment from Philadelphia to Washington, and called upon Mr. 
C. W. Needham, dean of the law school of the Columbian 
University, to speak on behalf of the Washington Board of 
Trade. His address was as follows: 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: It is an honor to represent the 
Board of Trade of the city of Washington upon this occasion, and to 
address this distinguished company upon the subject of a fitting celebra- 
tion of the one hundredth anniversary of the city of Washington. I 
should account myself eloquent indeed if I were able to do justice to my 
constituency, the occasion, and the subject. That an event so important 
in the history of our national life should receive proper commemoration, 
and that the celebration should be under the direction of the most 
distinguished men of the nation, is universally conceded. But how to 
celebrate, and what shall be the underlying thought, the constant pur- 
pose and aim in all that affects the growth and prosperity of this city are 
the questions immediately before us. 

It is the nation's city! The convention which framed the Constitu- 
tion in 1787 considered the establishment of a seat of government under 
the exclusive control of Congress essential to independent national life; 
and, on motion of James Madison, there was added to the enumerated 
powers of Congress in the Constitution a general provision that the 
representatives of the nation should ' ' exercise exclusive legislation in all 
cases whatsoever over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as 
may, by cession of particular States and the acceptance of Congress, 
become the seat of the Government of the United States. ' ' Washington, 
the great founder of the city, called it the "Federal City." James 
Madison spoke of it as the " National Metropolis." Through all of the 
discussions, in the conventions and in Congress, it was to be not only 
the exclusive territory, but under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Con- 
gress of the United States. 

The Continental Congress from 1774 to 1778, and the Congress of the 
Confederation from the latter period to 1789, had been a movable body, 
and their sessions had been held in four different States and eight differ- 
ent cities. The fathers thought it wise that the administration of the 
National Government should be free from immediate State influence, 
and that as the nation had a head, an untitled but royal family, it should 



Banquet by the Board of Trade. 173 

have a home; hence it came about that the nation which had established 
itself upon a new continent was the first in history to found a ' ' seat of 
government on new ground by legislative act." 

A nation is known, and judged by its representative men, its institu- 
tions, and its manifest wealth; every visitor to our land makes up his 
judgment of the nation at large from the impression made upon him by 
the men he meets, the institutions he comes in contact with, and the 
visible manifestation of wealth and power. If the men are intelligent, 
broad minded, far sighted, well grounded in honor and integrity; if the 
institutions are progressive in thought, reaching out after the best and 
truest facts in human life; if the structures in marble and stone, and 
statues and paintings are of the highest art, if there be refinement in 
society, then the nation is placed high in rank among the civilized 
nations of earth, and men will seek friendship and homes among such a 
people. Emerson said: "If there were any magnet that would point 
to the countries and houses where are the persons who are intrinsically 
rich and powerful, I would sell all and buy it and put myself on the 
road to-day." 

The race goes with us on their credit. The knowledge that there is 
in a city a man who invented the railroad raises the credit of all its citi- 
zens. But enormous populations, if they be beggars, are disgusting; 
like moving cheese, like hills of ants or fleas — the more the worse. To 
grow great and strong communities, there must be great plans and rich 
and deep foundations. Society that is good rises like those majestic 
trees in California, which spring from a soil as deep as the trees are 
high, and spread their boughs in an air ever mild and full of life from 
mountain and sea. Life in its highest form is made up of many ele- 
ments, and of all the sentiments in the human mind none is more 
universal than that of the beautiful. Looking at human history, the 
' ' beautiful is a river that has followed the marching human race like the 
sweet, fresh waters which followed that army that wandered in the desert 
under the banner of Moses. ' ' 

Follow man through Egypt and Greece and Palestine and Rome and 
Italy and France and England, and you will find this ' ' river of sweet 
waters ' ' everywhere. The ruins of civilization may be silent over the 
particular merits of those who built and worshiped in the temples and 
lived in the palaces, but the ruins all assure us that all those hearts, in all 
countries, and in all times, were in harmony in just such taste as is now 
the foundation of art. The history of the race, if wholly written, would 
add to the records of war, of politics, and of religion, the history of 
sentiment, which in the child reaches out for the brightest rose, and in 
manhood and womanhood seeks marble and bronze and crimson and gold 
and music and song. The highest utility includes the beautiful ; songs 
are as useful as reapers ; poems are as necessary as railroads; statue and 
memorial bridge meet a want in human life as real as that which calls 



174 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

for the telegraph, and architecture is as valuable as carpenter work. 
Let us then build for the nation a city which shall be full of the beautiful. 

Nor is wealth to be despised. Dr. Johnson said: "Men are seldom 
more innocently employed than when they are making money. ' ' A man 
who lives in a hut or a cave will die with no more estate th?n the wolf 
or the wild ass. The men who build railroads and factories and furnaces 
and mills are the benefactors and missionaries who bring the glad tidings 
of industry and markets and national wealth. Each nation has a civil- 
ization of its own; the black man and the Indian have not learned and 
taken up ' ' the white man's burden. ' ' Let this city represent the nation 
that within a hundred years has peopled half the continent, not with 
savage Indians or brutish white men, but with those that love labor and 
literature and art and liberty. 

The city is the point of contact, and in a large measure determines the 
reputation of the nation of which it forms a part; the activities of men 
are there, the institutions which exist represent the development of the 
people in science and art and literature and general culture. It becomes, 
therefore, the measure taken of the nation at large. 

In this city we receive the official representatives of every civilized 
nation upon the earth; men in high standing in the political and social 
life of the nations they represent. To meet these representatives and 
see the capital city, the most distinguished people from every land are 
daily visitors, and from this point of contact the American people are 
estimated. Here are the rulers of the nation, those who make and those 
who interpret and those who execute the laws. Here are the great 
Departments where the nation's affairs are transacted; where public 
policy, internal and foreign, is determined, and the national progress is 
guided. Where, then, so much as here, can the stranger expect to find 
so excellent a representation of our people, of its institutions, and of 
those arts which are the measure of a nation's wealth and civilization? 

What, then, ought this city to be? What was intended by its founders 
and what may fairly be expected from its growth in a hundred years? 
Its founders were men who had the souls, if not the vision, of prophets; 
with a population of 3,000,000 to provide for they wrote a Constitution, 
in short but expansive sentences, that provides equally well for 70,000,000, 
and will be sufficient for 300,000,000. They did not bound the seat of 
government by Florida avenue on the north nor the river on the west; 
they laid it ten miles square; they laid out parks; they planned its 
streets and avenues broad and expansive for beautiful houses, splendid 
buildings, and open spaces for works that should adorn and beautify the 
city and please the taste of a cultured people. Since they planned so 
wisely, what wonderful growth there has been! From a population in 
1800 of only 3,110 we have now nearly 280,000. 

With only 136 in public employ then, we have to-day nearly 20,000; 
the disbursements at the beginning only about $137,000 per annum for 



Banquet by the Board of Trade. 175 

all purposes, where to-day is paid out $20,000,000 per annum. Public 
buildings of great architectural beauty at large cost have been erected; 
streets and avenues have been extended and paved; parks have been 
planned, and vast improvements for the health and pleasure of the peo- 
ple are under way. Time does not permit me to speak of the beautiful 
homes and churches, the libraries and places of amusement, the institu- 
tions of learning, nor of the marvelous beauty of the city. But its 
possibilities are even greater than its achievements. 

What, then, shall we do for the Federal City? Our day is here; we 
can not accomplish all that shall be done for it or bring all our plans to 
completion, but we must build in this temple in the time allotted to us; 
the reputation of the city and through it the reputation of the nation is 
in our keeping. The United States, known for generations among the 
great powers as a trading, mone}'-making nation, has taken a great step 
upward. It heard the cry of an oppressed people, and, although it loved 
peace more than war, it loved liberty more than peace. Rising in its 
strength it unfurled its banners upon the land and spread her sails upon 
the sea, and in three months was admitted to the peerage of the greatest 
nations of mankind. Civilization comes not by bread alone, nor by bread 
and clothes and shelter, but by the uprising of many sentiments, and the 
city that shall fittingly represent America must be made like the beau- 
tiful temple of old, by the wonderful mingling of wood and beaten gold, 
of rock and burnished stone, of mind and matter. 

How is this to be accomplished? 

1. By the exercise of a liberal spirit and a wise and honest expenditure 
of money in public buildings required by the National Government. 
These buildings should be located with reference to the public con- 
venience and to the artistic grouping of buildings and open space. 

2. By the application of part of the contribution made for the celebra- 
tion of great events to permanent adornments. 

3. By the establishment of institutions of learning through private 
enterprises that shall represent in their methods and work, and in so far 
as possible in their buildings, the best in the land. 

4. The adornment of the public parks should be under the direction of 
competent judges of works of art who possess the skill to place them with 
reference to the best effect. In short, let the city in its public buildings, 
in their general grouping, in artistic effects, in its institutions, in its 
homes, represent the culture and attainments, and wealth, and power of 
the nation whose city it is. 

The next speaker was Mr. R. Ross Perry, who, on behalf 
of the centennial committee, urged the importance of improv- 
ing the Capital in a manner commensurate with the greatness 
of the nation. He likened the presence of the guests to "a 
gathering of loyal sons to show their devotion to a proud 



176 Establisliment of the Seat of Government. 

mother," adding that from the various States which they 
represented had come the individual features which together 
formed the true American character. 

Senator McMillan, chairman of the Senate Committee 
on the District of Columbia, was next introduced, and in 
the course of his remarks he impressed upon his audience 
the desirability of having a definite part of the city laid 
aside for the erection of public buildings. He also warmly 
commended the fidelity of the Board of Trade in its patriotic 
exertions. 

The next speaker was Governor McMillin, of Tennessee, 
whose praise of the accomplishments of the American Gov- 
ernment during the one hundred and twenty-three years of 
• its existence was heartily applauded. 

Governor Stone, of Pennsylvania, followed, and in well- 
chosen words expressed his faith in the future of Washington 
and his belief that it would be made the most beautiful city 
in the world. 

This speech was followed by one from Governor Thomas, 
of Colorado, who, although wishing that the capital might 
have been established " in the modern Palmyra of the Occi- 
dent," recognized the fact that the chosen locality had been 
wisely selected. He strongly advocated the further beauti- 
fying of the city, and suggested the propriety of erecting a 
municipal building that would rival the Congressional Librarv. 
He also advocated the plan of a memorial boulevard from the 
Capitol to the Potomac, as well as a memorial bridge and a 
monument to the memory of Abraham Lincoln. 

Governor Powers, of Maine, was next introduced, his remarks 
reflecting his belief that Washington should be made the 
finest capital in the world, and adding that Maine would sup- 
port any measure which had in view the beautifying of the 
city. 

Governor Wells, of Utah, was then heard. He heartily 
approved the idea of having a new Executive Mansion, adding 
some interesting and witty remarks concerning the represen- 
tation of his State in Congress. 

Senator Proctor, of Vermont, was then introduced, and 
expressed himself as one whose sympathies were keenly alive 



Banquet by the Board of Trade. 177 

to the objects of the celebration through his long residence 
in the city. He concluded by asserting that the welfare of 
Washington reached to the uttermost parts of the country— 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to the 

Gulf. 

Governor Dyer, of Rhode Island, in a brief speech lauded 
the hospitality of the Board of Trade, and expressed it as the 
opinion of the people of his State that Washington City 
should be an adornment to the nation. 

The Hon. Joseph G. Cannon was greeted with hearty 
applause. He referred to Washington as the place where the 
youth of the land came to shape their ideals of government, 
and assured the audience that Congress would do its part to 
make the Centennial Celebration such as would emphasize 
the progress of the century which was almost ended. 

Governor Lind, of Minnesota, who will always be remem- 
' bered for his efforts in securing adequate appropriations for 
the new Congressional Library, was then introduced, and 
extended the good will of his State toward the people of 
Washington. He highly commended the enterprise of the 
people of the District of Columbia, and expressed the hope 
that the celebration would be successful in the highest 
degree. 

The Hon. David H. Mercer, of Nebraska, followed in the 
same laudatory vein. He favored the erection of magnificent 
buildings. With the Congressional Library, said he, should 
be erected a magnificent temple of justice, and "the grounds 
south of the avenue should be rehabilitated, parked, and 
dotted with public buildings. The Capital City should be 
made the greatest capital in the world." 

Senator Gallinger expressed himself as favoring generous 
appropriations for improving the city. He wanted to see the 
memorial bridge built and a boulevard, such as had been 
outlined, completed. 

The last speaker was Governor Mount, of Indiana, who 
dwelt especially upon the progress which the nation had 
made, and extolled its unmatched and boundless resources. 

Mr. Edson then, on behalf of the Board of Trade, expressed 
the great pleasure which the presence of the guests had 
H. Doc. 552 12 



178 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

afforded, and thanked them for the manifestation of their 
sympathy and good will. The distinguished company then 
dispersed after singing "America." 

The special committee of arrangements for the banquet 
was composed of Messrs. John Joy Edson, chairman; George 
Truesdell, S. W. Woodward, Isadore Saks, Crosby S. Noyes, 
Beriah Wilkins. and Gen. George H. Harries. 



DECORATION AND ILLUMINATION. 



SOUVENIR MEDAL AND BADGE. 



DECORATION AND ILLUMINATION. 



Patriotic feelings were aroused by the ample display of the 
national colors on public and private buildings alike through- 
out the city, and especially on Pennsjdvania avenue and F 
street. The Government buildings were appropriately decked 
for the occasion. A number of large flags made an effective 
display on the State, War, and Navy building, their centers 
being held in place by American shields. The flags of many 
Central and South American countries adorned the building 
occupied by the Bureau of the American Republics. The 
Treasury Department was made resplendent in the effective 
decorations of the Stars and Stripes, and a large group of 
flags hung over the north entrance, their staffs being united 
in a common center. 

The East Room of the Executive Mansion had been very 
handsomely prepared for the morning exercises. Banks of 
flowers and tropical foliage ornamented the mantels, and 
numerous electric lights gave a resplendent effect to the large 
crystal chandeliers. On the east wall and against a back- 
ground of yellow silk curtains were a number of water-color 
drawings and pen-and-ink sketches indicating in greater 
detail the plans of the proposed enlargement of the Mansion. 

The Hall of the House of Representatives was tastefully 
ornamented for the afternoon exercises. Interspersed freely 
among the decorations was the American flag, gathered at 
the ends and middle so as to represent large bows. The rail 
separating the members' desks from the lobby was covered 
with bunting, and the front row of desks was hidden beneath 
flags. The desks of the Speaker, the Clerk of the House, 
and the official reporters were also draped with the national 
colors. 

At the Corcoran Gallery of Art in the evening the decora- 
tions were very beautiful. In the Hall of Statuary the marble 



182 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

pillars and the electric-light globes were festooned with vines, 
while the wide staircase was hedged with palms and blooming 
chrysanthemums. At the first landing the walls were deco- 
rated with smilax. 

The street illuminations were also very effective. On 
Seventeenth street this feature was, as has already been men- 
tioned, under the charge of Mr. Walter C. Allen, electrical 
engineer of the District. Festoons of lamps were arranged 
along this street southward from Pennsylvania avenue to the 
entrance of the Art Gallery, and along New York avenue as 
far as the entrance on that side. The south line of Pennsyl- 
vania avenue at Seventeenth street was lighted by a suspended 
device bearing the words " Capital Centennial Celebration, 
1900," in a blaze of incandescent lamps. Beneath this was 
a large American flag composed of colored lights which 
alternately brightened and paled, giving the flag a waving 
appearance. An electric flag similarly constructed was 
erected on the Fifteenth Street side of the Treasury building. 



SOUVENIR MEDAL AND BADGE. 



A handsome medal was struck in honor of the National 
Centennial Celebration. It was designed by the committee 
on medals and badges, Mr. William P. Van Wickle, chairman, 
and through the courtesy of Hon. George E. Roberts, Director 
of the Mint, the dies were cut at the United States mint in 
Philadelphia, under the personal supervision of the chief 
engraver, Mr. Charles E. Barber. The medal is i% inches 
in diameter, and is of a rich, dark bronze, containing metal 
from the old Capitol and White House of 1800. It is mounted 
with a swivel and with a ribbon of the national colors, and 
is provided with an invisible pin for attachment. On the 
" obverse" is shown a profile bust protrait of President McKin- 
ley in subrelief, overlaid by a bust profile of John Adams in 
bold relief, with the following lettering encircling the heads: 
"John Adams, 1800" — "William McKinley, 1900." 

On the "reverse" is a panel across the center, inscribed 
with the following words: " Commemorative of establishment 
of the Capital in the District of Columbia." Above the panel 
is a representation of the United States Capitol building as it 
stands at the present time, bearing the superscription " United 
States Capitol, 1900." Below the panel is a representation 
of the United States Capitol building as it appeared one hun- 
dred years ago, with the following words subscribed: "United 
States Capitol, 1800." 

In addition, two gold medals, 24 carat, were struck from 
the dies of the bronze medal, for presentation to President 
McKinley and to the president of the Board of Commission- 
ers of the District of Columbia, Hon. Henry B. F. Macfar- 
land, chairman of the citizens' committee. Ten silver medals 
were presented to the Governors of Maryland and Virginia, 
and local universities and libraries. 



184 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Bronze copies of trie commemorative medal, in neat cases, 
were presented to the official participants and to the specially 
invited guests. 

A simple style of badge was also devised, consisting of a 
button, on which is depicted the bust of George Washington, 
with the words, "National Capital Centennial, 1900." From 
the badge three ribbons of the national colors extended down- 
ward, the title of the committee being stamped in gold upon 
the center one. 



CONGRESSIONAL ACTION. 



is 5 



CONGRESSIONAL ACTION. 



The following extracts from the Congressional Record 
show in detail the various actions of Congress in connection 
with the celebration, which for convenience are arranged 
under these heads: " Appointment of Congressional commit- 
tees," " Providing for committee from country at large and 
report to Congress on plans for celebration," " Reference of 
report on plans for celebration," " Providing for plans for 
enlargement of Executive Mansion and treatment of Mall 
and Centennial avenue," "Final legislation providing for 
joint exercises," and " Preparatory to assembling of the 
Houses for the exercises at the Capitol on December 12." 
The date of each action and the branch of Congress by which 
enacted are indicated, except that the latter is not repeated 
where it is the same for successive paragraphs. 

appointment of congressional committees. 

Senate. 

December 7, i8g8. 
Mr. Hoar submitted the following resolution, which was 
considered by unanimous consent, and agreed to: 

Resolved, That a committee of seven Senators be appointed by the 
Chair, to whom shall be referred so much of the President's message as 
recommends the celebration with fitting ceremonies in the year 1900 
of the centennial anniversary of the founding of the city of Washington 
for the permanent capital of the Government of the United States. 

December 79, 1898. 

The Vice-President appointed Mr. Hoar, Mr. Hale, Mr. 

Perkins, Mr. Simon, Mr. McLaurin, Mr. Clay, and Mr. Tur- 

ley as the Select Committee on the Centennial Celebration 

in the City of Washington, authorized by a resolution of the 

Senate of the 7th instant. 

187 



188 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

February 8, i8gg. 
Mr. Hoar submitted the following resolution; which was 
considered by unanimous consent, and agreed to: 

[Senate resolution No. 502, Fifty-fifth Congress, third session.] 

Resolved, That the select committee on so much of the President's 
message as relates to the celebration in nineteen hundred of the establish- 
ment of the Government in the District of Columbia be authorized to act, 
in relation thereto, with awy committee that may be appointed by the 
President, the House of Representatives, or the citizens of said District 
to make arrangements for said purpose. 

January ./, /goo. 
Mr. Hoar was, on his own motion, relieved from further 
service on the Select Committee to provide for the celebration 
of the centennial anniversary of Washington, D. C. 

February 16, /poo. 

On motion of Mr. Hale, and by unanimous consent, it was 

Ordered, That the vacanc3' on the part of the Senate upon the Joint 
Committee on the Centennial of the Establishment of the Seat of Gov- 
ernment in Washington be filled by the President pro tempore ; and 

The President pro tempore appointed Mr. McMillan. 

House. 

February 27, /8pp. 
Under clause 3 of Rule XXII, Mr. Babcock introduced the 
following resolution (H. Res. 421) providing that a commit- 
tee of ten members be appointed by the Speaker to confer 
with other committees on the centennial anniversary: 

Resolved, That a committee of ten members of the House be appointed 
by the Speaker, who shall be authorized to act with any committee that 
may be appointed by the President, the Senate, or the citizens of the 
District of Columbia, to make arrangements for the celebration of the cen- 
'tennial anniversary of the establishment of the National Capital in the 
District of Columbia. 

(Referred to the Committee on Rules and ordered to be printed.) 

December 8, /8gg. 
The following resolution (H. Res. 28) was introduced by 
Mr. Heatwole with a view to making necessary arrangements 



Congressional Action. 189 

for the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the estab- 
lishment of the national capital in the District of Columbia: 

Resolved, That a committee of ten members of the House be appointed 
by the Speaker, who shall be authorized to act with any committee that 
may be appointed by the President, the Senate, or the citizens of the 
District of Columbia, to make arrangements for the celebration of the cen- 
tennial anniversary of the establishment of the National Capital in the 
District of Columbia. 

(Referred to the Committee on Rules and ordered to be printed. ) 

December 12, i8gg. 

Mr. Cannon. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for 
the present consideration of the resolution which will be 
reported by the Clerk. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That a committee of ten members of the House be appointed 
by the Speaker, who shall be authorized to act with the committees that 
have been appointed by the President, the Senate, or from the citizens 
of the District of Columbia, to prepare plans for an appropriate national 
celebration, in the year nineteen hundred, of the first session of Con- 
gress in the District of Columbia and the establishment of the seat of 
government therein. 

The Speaker. Is there objection to the present considera- 
tion of the resolution? 
There was no objection. 
The resolution was agreed to. 

December /j, igoo. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the following Select 
Committee on the Establishment of the Seat of Government 
in Washington, as provided for by the resolution passed last 
night. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Select Committee on the Establishment of the Seat of Government in 
Washington: Mr. J. G. Cannon of Illinois, Mr. William W. Grout of 
Vermont, Mr. Joel P. Heatwole of Minnesota, Mr. James S. Sherman 
of New York, Mr. James A. Hemenway of Indiana, Mr. Robert J. Gam- 
ble of South Dakota, Mr. J. W. Bailey of Texas, Mr. Marion De Vries 
of California, Mr. William S. Cowherd of Missouri, and Mr. John C. 
Bell of Colorado. 



190 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

December -/, /poo. 
The Speaker laid before the House the following resig- 
nation : 

Washington, D. C. , August 20, 1900. 
Dear Sir : I beg to respectfully advise you that I have this day 
resigned as a Representative in the Fifty-sixth Congress of the United 
States from the Second Congressional district of the State of California. 
Very respectfully, 3 r ours, 

Marion De Vries. 
Hon. D. B. Henderson, 

Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States, 
Dubuque, Iowa. 

December 5, /poo. 
The Speaker announced the following appointment: 
To the Select Committee on the Centennial of the Estab- 
lishment of the Seat of Government in Washington, Mr. 
James W. Denny, of Maryland. 

providing for committee from country at large and 
report to congress on plans for celebration. 

Senate. 

December 12, i8g8. 
Mr. Hoar introduced a joint resolution (S. R. 200) provid- 
ing for the appointment of a committee to prepare and carry 
out plans for the celebration of the centennial anniversary of 
the founding of the city of Washington, which was read the 
first time by its title and the second time at length," as follows : 

Resolved by the Senate ajid House of Representatives of the United States 
of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the Senate and 
the Speaker of the House be, and they are hereby, authorized to appoint 
from the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, five mem- 
bers, who shall act with the committee of citizens of the District of 
Columbia in the preparation and carrying out of plans for the celebra- 
tion of the centennial of the anniversary of the founding of the city of 
Washington as the permanent capital of the Government of the United 
States; and that the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, 
authorized to appoint a committee from the country at large to cooperate 
with the Congressional and District of Columbia committees in the 
management of said celebration. 



Congressional Action. igi 

Mr. Hoar. I move that the joint resolution be referred to 
the Select Committee on the Centennial Celebration in the 
City of Washington, authorized by resolution of the Senate 
on the 7th instant. 

The motion was agreed to. 

January 28, i8gg. 

Mr. Hoar. I am directed by the Select Committee on the 
Anniversary of the Foundation of the City of Washington, 
D. C, to report a bill, and to ask for its present consideration. 

The bill (S. 5391) to provide for an appropriate national 
celebration of the establishment of the seat of government in 
the District of Columbia was read for the first time by its 
title and. the second time at length, as follows: 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represe?itatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, The President is authorized to 
appoint a committee from the country at large, of such number as he 
shall think proper, to act with any committees that may be appointed 
by the two Houses of Congress, or either of them, and with any com- 
mittee that may be appointed from the citizens of the District of Columbia, 
who may prepare plans for an appropriate national celebration, in the 
year nineteen hundred, of the first session of Congress in the District 
and the establishment of the seat of government therein. Said com- 
mittee shall report their proceedings to the President, to be by him 
communicated to Congress. 

Sec 2. The actual expenses of the members of said committee shall 
be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury on vouchers to be approved by 
the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sec. 3. The sum of ten thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may 
be necessary, is hereby appropriated from any money in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, to carry into effect the second section of 
this act. 

By unanimous consent the Senate, as in Committee of the 
Whole, proceeded to consider the bill. 

Mr. Pettus. In section 2, line 2, after the word "com- 
mittee" I move to insert "so appointed by the President." 

The amendment was agreed to. 

The bill was reported to the Senate as amended, and the 
amendment was concurred in. 

The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, 
read the third time, and passed. 



192 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

House. 

January 30, 1899. 
A message from the Senate, by Mr. Piatt, one of its clerks, 
announced that among the bills passed by the Senate and 
requiring the concurrence of the House, was the following: 

S. 5391. An act to provide for an appropriate national cele- 
bration of the establishment of the seat of government in the 
District of Columbia. 

January 30, 1899. 
Under clause 2, of Rule XXIV, the above-mentioned Senate 
bill was, with others, taken from the Speaker's table and 
referred to the Committee on the District of Columbia. 

February 10, 1899. 
Under clause 2, of Rule XIII, the following bill (S. 539 1 )) 
to provide for an appropriate national celebration of the estab- 
lishment of the seat of government in the District of Colum- 
bia, was reported without amendment by Mr. Curtis, of Iowa, 
from the Committee on the District of Columbia, accompanied 
by a report (No. 2090). Both bill and report were referred to 
the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. 

February 23, 1899 
Mr. Babcock. I ask for the present consideration of the 
bill (S. 5391) to provide for an appropriate national celebra- 
tion of the establishment of the seat of government in the 
District of Columbia. 

The bill was read, as follows : 

A BILL to provide for an appropriate national celebration of the establishment of 
the seat of government in the District of Columbia. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, The President is authorized to 
appoint a committee from the country at large, of such number as he 
shall think proper, to act with any committees that may be appointed by 
the two Houses of Congress, or either of them, and with any committee 
that may be appointed from the citizens of the District of Columbia, who 
may prepare plans for an appropriate national celebration, in the year 
nineteen hundred, of the first session of Congress in the District and the 
establishment of the seat of government therein. Said committee shall 



Congressional Action. 193 

report their proceedings to the President, to be by him communicated to 
Congress. 

Sec. 2. The actual expenses of the members of said committee so 
appointed by the President shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury 
on vouchers to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior. 

Sec. 3. The sum of ten thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may 
be necessary, -is hereby appropriated from any money in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, to carry into effect the second section of 
this act. 

The report (by Mr. Curtis, of Iowa) is as follows: 

[Report (No. 2090) to accompany S. 5391.] 

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred 
the bill (S. 5391) to provide for an appropriate national celebration of 
the establishment of the seat of government in the District of Columbia, 
report the same back with the recommendation that it do pass. 

The purpose of this bill is to authorize the appointment of committees 
to prepare plans for an appropriate national celebration, in the year 
1900, of the first session of Congress in the District and the establish- 
ment of the seat of government therein. 

The following memorial was presented by the above-mentioned com- 
mittee to the President: 

"At a public meeting of citizens, held the 24th of October, the chair- 
man was authorized to appoint a committee of nine citizens, who should 
consider plans for the proper celebration of this centennial and report 
their recommendations at a meeting to be called for that purpose. 

"It is the opinion of this committee that the national character of this 
event and the peculiar conditions which do now, and doubtless will, sur- 
round our national history make it desirable to elevate the celebration 
beyond purely local aspects. It marks the creation and growth of the 
capital of a great country; it indicates the rapidly opening possibilities 
of our future. The country has, apparently, completed one phase of its 
development. The coming century opens for it a world-wide field which 
it has not hitherto sought to enter. Within our borders we have a 
united and prosperous people. 

" In order that this subject may be brought to the attention of Con- 
gress in a manner suited to the dignity and importance of the occasion, 
we have the honor to request that you will suggest in your annual 
message to Congress such legislation as will provide for the appointment 
of a national committee, consisting of five Senators and five Representa- 
tives, to be appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of 
the House, respectively, who shall act with the committee appointed by 
the citizens of the District of Columbia, and that you be empowered to 
further increase this committee by the addition of citizens at large. 

H. Doc. 552 13 



194 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

"It is also suggested that you invite the Governors of the several 
States and Territories to act as members of this committee, which, when 
finally constituted, shall be authorized to report to Congress a suitable 
plan for the celebration of the event. 

' ' It might be added that the committee already appointed are unani- 
mous^ of the opinion that so important an event could well be marked 
by the erection of a type of architecture which will in itself inspire 
patriotism and a broader love of country, such as a memorial hall, a 
bridge connecting the District of Columbia with the sacred ground of 
Arlington, or some other permanent structure which would commemo- 
rate not only the occasion, but also the exceptionally happj T condition of 
our people at this time, when to so marked a degree there is noticed the 
absence of all sectional feeling and the prevalence of good will through- 
out the land. ' ' 

The following is taken from the recent message of President McKin- 
ley, and is incorporated as a part of this report: 

" In the 3 7 ear 1900 will occur the centennial anniversary of the found- 
ing of the cit} r of Washington for the permanent capital of the Govern- 
ment of the United States by authority of an act of Congress approved 
July 16, 1790. In May, 1800, the archives and general offices of the 
Federal Government were removed to this place. On the 17th of 
November, 1800, the National Congress met here for the first time, and 
assumed exclusive control of the Federal District and city. This inter- 
esting event assumes all the more significance when we recall the 
circumstances attending the choosing of the site, the naming of the 
Capital in honor of the Father of his Country, and the interest taken by 
him in the adoption of plans for its future development on a magnificent 
scale. 

' ' These original plans have been wrought out with a constant progress 
and a signal success even beyond anything their framers could have 
foreseen. The people of the country are justl}' proud of the distinctive 
beauty and government of the Capital, and of the rare instruments of 
science and education which here find their natural home. 

"A movement lately inaugurated by the citizens to have the anniver- 
sary celebrated with fitting ceremonies, including perhaps the establish- 
ment of a handsome permanent memorial to mark so historic an occasion, 
and to give it more than local recognition, has met with general favor 
on the part of the public. 

' ' I recommend to the Congress the granting of an appropriation for 
this purpose and the appointment of a committee from its respective 
bodies. It might also be advisable to authorize the President to appoint 
a committee from the country at large, which, acting with the Con- 
gressional and District of Columbia committees, can complete the plans 
for an appropriate national celebration." 



Congressional Action. 195 

The attached letter from Commissioner Wight explains the desira- 
bility of this bill, and is made a part of this report: 

"Office Commissioners of the District of Columbia, 

Washington, February 3, 18pp. 

Dear Sir: In connection with Senate bill No. 5391, referred to the 
Committee on the District of Columbia, to provide for a proper national 
celebration of the establishment of the seat of government in the District 
of Columbia, I have the honor to submit the following statement: 

At a meeting of the citizens of the District of Columbia, held in 
October last, to consider plans for the celebration of this important 
event, I was elected chairman of the meeting, and was authorized to 
appoint a committee of nine to make arrangements for the same. This 
committee was appointed, and consists of prominent citizens of the 
District of Columbia who have had large experience in the matter of 
inaugural ceremonies, etc. 

At the first meeting of the committee it was unanimously decided that 
the celebration should be national in its character, and not purely local, 
inasmuch as it celebrates the establishment of the National Capital. 

The committee then waited upon the President of the United States, 
who favored such a form of celebration, and has so expressed himself in 
his last annual message to Congress. 

This bill provides for the appointment by the President of a committee 
from the country at large, of such a number as he shall think proper. 
If he is allowed to do this, the committee will be appointed, consisting 
probably of the Governors of the various States and other prominent citi- 
zens, who will confer with the committees appointed by Congress and the 
citizens' committee of the District of Columbia, and arrange for the 
proper celebration of the event referred to. 

This is a matter, certainly, in which the whole country must take an 
interest, and it is believed that the formation of such a committee of 
arrangements will insure the wise and beneficial use that may be made 
of such a celebration, and add largely to the welfare and growth of the 
National Capital. 

I am directed by the committee of which I am chairman to present 
you these facts, and to say that the committee very earnestly desires the 
passage of the bill, so that steps may be taken as soon as possible in the 
direction indicated. 

If any further information is desired, I shall be very happy to confer 
with you or to send it to you upon your request. 
Very respectfully, 

John B. Wight, Chairman. 

Hon. George M. Curtis, 

Acting Chairman District Committee, House of Representatives.'' 1 



196 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The following paragraphs quoted from the Washington 
Bvening Star were also made a part of Mr. Curtis' Report: 

At a subsequent meeting of citizens of the District, held at Willard's 
Hall, for the purpose of receiving the report of the committee appointed 
at the meeting held on the 24th of October to consider plans for the pro- 
posed celebration of the centennial anniversary of the founding of this 
city to be held in 1900, Mr. John B. Wight, president of the Board of 
Commissioners of the District, and ex officio chairman of the committee, 
presided, and Mr. W. S. McKean was the secretary. This committee of 
nine is composed of Messrs. M. M. Parker, John Joy Edson, Charles 
J. Bell, R. Ross Perry, Theodore W. Noyes, Lawrence Gardner, John W. 
Thompson, and A. T. Britton. 

Its report, which was read by the chairman, gave an account of the 
appointment of the committee upon authority of resolutions adopted at a 
public meeting held October 24. Continuing, the report stated : 

' 'A meeting of the committee was called for the evening of November 
1 , at which all were present with one or two exceptions. Full considera- 
tion was given the resolution constituting the committee, suggestions 
were made as to the various forms of celebration, and the committee 
expressed the unanimous opinion that, inasmuch as the celebration 
would relate to the establishment of the National Capital, it should be 
national in character, and that before determining on any plan whatever, 
a conference should be had with the President of the United States. 

' ' The President received the committee and at once evinced a deep 
interest, conferring freely with its members and advising that before 
further steps were taken, authority should be asked of Congress for the 
appointment of Congressional representatives on the committee. He 
also suggested that, were he given authority to do so, he would be glad 
to increase the committee by the addition of citizens from the country 
at large to cooperate in so worthy a project. 

' ' The committee then requested the President to make reference to 
the subject in his annual message to Congress, leaving with him a com- 
munication to that effect. The President expressed a desire for more 
detailed information, which was furnished him, and in his annual mes- 
sage there appears this paragraph : 

" ' In the year 1900 will occur the centennial anniversary of the found- 
ing of the city of Washington for the permanent Capital of the Govern- 
ment of the United States by authority of an act of Congress approved 
July 16, 1790. In May, 1800, the archives and general offices of the 
Federal Government were removed to this place. On the 17th of Nov- 
ember, 1800, the National Congress met here for the first time and 
assumed exclusive control of the Federal district and city. This inter- 
esting event assumes all the more significance when we recall the circum 
stances attending the choosing of the site, the naming of the Capital in 



Congressional Action. 197 

honor of the Father of His Country, and the interest taken by him in 
the adoption of plans for its future development on a magnificent scale. 
These original plans have been wrought out with a constant pro- 
gress and a signal success, even beyond anything their framers could have 
foreseen. The people of the country are justly proud of the distinctive 
beauty and government of the Capital, and of the rare instruments of 
science and education which here find their natural home. 

" 'A movement lately inaugurated by the citizens to have the anni- 
versary celebrated with fitting ceremonies, including, perhaps, the estab- 
lishment of a permanent memorial to mark so historical an occasion, and 
to give it a more legal recognition, has met with general favor on the 
part of the public. 

'"I recommend to Congress the granting of an appropriation for this 
purpose and the appointment of a committee from its respective bodies. 
It might also be advisable to authorize the President to appoint a com- 
mittee from the country at large, which, acting with the Congressional 
and District of Columbia committees, can complete plans for an appro- 
priate national celebration.' 

"Since the message was sent to Congress, the following joint resolu- 
tion was introduced into the Senate by Senator Hoar: 

' ' 'Resolved by the Senate a?id House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the Sen- 
ate and the Speaker of the House be, and are hereby, authorized to 
appoint from the Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively, 
five members, who shall act with the committee of citizens of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia in the preparation and carrying out of plans for the 
celebration of the centennial of the anniversary of the founding of the 
city of Washington as the permanent Capital of the Government of the 
United States, and that the President of the United States be, and is 
hereby, authorized to appoint a committee from the country at large to 
cooperate with the Congressional and District of Columbia committees 
in the management of said celebration.' 

"In the Senate, December 7, Senator Hoar introduced the following 
resolution, which was adopted: 

' ' 'Resolved, That a committee of seven Senators be appointed by the 
Chair, to whom shall be referred so much of the President's message as 
recommends the celebration with fitting ceremonies in the year 1900 of 
the centennial anniversary of the founding of the city of Washington for 
the permanent Capital of the Government of the United States.' 

Should this resolution become a law, the committee will be completed 
as speedily as possible and convened for the formulation of such plans as 
may be deemed proper. 

The committee have endeavored in their deliberations to secure the 
widest and most beneficial results for the District of Columbia. They 
have not ignored that part of the resolution which requires them to 



198 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

report to a meeting of citizens such plans as in their opinion are proper 
for the observance of this great national event, but it will be seen from 
the report made to-night that no plans have been adopted. The com- 
mittee have called the citizens together to-night for the purpose of report- 
ing progress, and to acquaint them with the steps which have been taken 
thus far. It is hoped that their action will meet with the approval of 
the citizens. ' ' 

The information which was submitted to the President, to which ref- 
erence is made in the report of the committee, was then read. It follows 
in part : 

' ' The citizens of the National Capital appreciate the fact that the year 
1900 will be the centennial of events in the nation's history which, while 
they are general in character, are directly related to our city and the 
District of Columbia. 

' ' The one hundredth anniversary of the laying of the corner stone of 
the Capitol was properly commemorated by our citizens September 18, 
1893, but the approaching events to which we refer are of larger impor- 
tance and demand more general notice. 

"In May, 1800, the archives and general offices of the Federal Gov- 
ernment were removed to this place. On the 17th of November, 1800, 
the National Congress met here for the first time and assumed exclusive 
control of the Federal district and city. 

"This may, be said to have been the establishment of the city of 
Washington as the permanent Capital of the United States, the legal 
requirements being fully complied with when Congress met in regular 
session on the first Monday in December, 1800, in accordance with the 
act of July 16, 1799, which reads as follows: 

" 'And be it further enacted, That on the first Monday in December, 
in the year eighteen hundred, the seat of Government of the United 
States shall, by virtue of this act, be transferred to the District and place 
aforesaid.' " 

Mr. Curtis, of Iowa: Mr. Speaker, I ask for a vote. 

The bill was ordered to the third reading; and it was accord- 
ingly read the third time and passed. 

On motion of Mr. Curtis, of Iowa, a motion to reconsider 
the vote by which the bill was passed was laid on the table. 

February 25, i8gg. 
Mr. Hager, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported 
that it had examined and found truly enrolled S. 5391, an 
act to provide for an appropriate national celebration of the 
establishment of the seat of government in the District of 
Columbia. It was then signed by the Speaker. 



Congressional Action. 199 

Senate. 

February 23, i8gg. 
In a message from the House of Representatives it was 
announced that the Speaker of the House had signed the fol- 
lowing enrolled bill: 

S. 5391. A bill to provide for an appropriate national cele- 
bration of the establishment of the seat of government in the 
District of Columbia. It was thereupon signed by the Vice- 
President. 

March 1, i8gg. 

A message from the President of the United States, by Mr. 
O. L. Pruden, one of his secretaries, announced that the 
President had, on the 28th ultimo, approved and signed the 
following act: 

An act (S. 5391) to provide for an appropriate national cele- 
bration of the establishment of the seat of government in the 
District of Columbia. 

reference of report on plans for celebration. 

' Senate. 

March 7, /goo. 
The President />/-# tempore laid before the Senate the fol- 
lowing message from the President of the United States; 
which was read, and, with the accompanying papers, referred 
to the Committee on the Centennial of the Establishment of 
the Seat of Government in Washington, and ordered to be 
printed : 

To the Senate and House of Represetitatives: 

I transmit herewith, for the information of Congress, the report of 
the proceedings of the committee appointed in conformity with an act of 
Congress entitled "An act to provide for an appropriate national cele- 
bration of the establishment of the seat of government in the District of 
Columbia," approved February 28, 1899. 

William McKinley. 

Executive Mansion March 7, igoo. 

House. 

March 8, /goo. 

The Speaker laid before the House the following mes- 
sage of the President; which was read, referred to the Select 



200 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Committee on the Centennial of the Establishment of the Seat 
of Government in Washington, and ordered to be printed: 
(For text of message see preceding page.) 

PROVIDING FOR PLANS FOR ENLARGEMENT OF EXECUTIVE 

MANSION AND TREATMENT OF MALL AND 

CENTENNIAL AVENUE. 

[Among the amendments to sundry civil appropriation bill.] 

Senate. 

May 14, 1900. 

Mr. McMillan submitted an amendment authorizing the 
President of the United States to appoint an architect, a land- 
scape architect, and a sculptor to make an examination and to 
report plans for the enlargement of the Executive Mansion, 
and proposing to appropriate $10,000 for services and expenses 
incident thereto, intended to be proposed by him as an amend- 
ment to the sundry civil appropriation bill ; which was referred 
to the Joint Committee on the Centennial of the Establish- 
ment of the Seat of Government at Washington, and ordered 
to be printed. 

May 75, /goo. 

Mr. McMillan, from the Joint Committee on the Centennial 
of the Establishment of the Seat of Government in Washing- 
ton, to whom was referred the amendment submitted b} r him- 
self on the 14th instant, authorizing the President of the 
United States to appoint an architect, a landscape architect, 
and a sculptor to make an examination and report plans for 
the enlargement of the Executive Mansion, and proposing to 
appropriate $10,000 for services and expenses incident thereto, 
intended to be proposed by him as an amendment to the 
sundry civil appropriation bill, reported favorably thereon, and 
moved that it be printed, and, with the accompanying paper, 
referred to the Committee on Appropriations; which was 
agreed to. 

This amendment, worded as follows, was reached on May 
26, during the consideration of the sundry civil bill (H. R. 
11212): 

That the President of the United States is hereby authorized to 
appoint an architect, a landscape architect, and a sculptor, each of con- 



Congressional Action. 201 

spicuous ability in his profession, to be associated with the Chief of 
Engineers of the United States Army, to make an examination and to 
report. to Congress on the first Monday in December, nineteen hundred, 
plans for the enlargement of the Executive Mansion; for the treatment 
of that section of the District of Columbia situated south of Pennsylvania 
avenue and north of B street SW., and for a suitable connection between 
the Potomac and the Zoological parks. 

For services and expenses incident to said examination and report, ten 
thousand dollars, to be disbursed under the control of the Secretary of 
War. 

Mr. Stewart. Let that amendment be passed over. 

Mr. Allison. At the request of the Senator from Nevada 
and other Senators, I ask that the amendment may be passed 
over. 

The President pro tempore. The amendment will be 
passed over. 

May 29, 1900. 

(In further consideration of the amendment offered by Mr. 
McMillan on May 14th.) 

Mr. Pettigrew. Mr. President, it seems to me that that 
amendment is not in order unless it has been estimated for. 

Mr. Allison. It is not estimated for, but I will say to the 
Senate that this is an amendment which has the approval of 
a standing committee of the Senate. 

Mr. Pettigrew. The Committee on Public Buildings and 
Grounds? 

Mr. Allison. It was sent to us by the Committee on the 
District of Columbia, and I believe, also, by the Committee on 
Public Buildings and Grounds. 

Mr. Chandler. This is not general legislation; it is spe- 
cific legislation, and I do not suppose anybody doubts that 
the Committee on Appropriations has the right — not a superior 
right to any other committee, but the same right as any 
other committee — to recommend the adoption of appropria- 
tions of this kind. 

Mr. Allison. I was not waiving the right of the Committee 
on Appropriations. 

Mr. McMillan. Mr. President, I should like to say right 
here that this amendment was placed in this appropriation 
bill at the instance of the Select Committee on the Centennial 



202 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

of the Establishment of the Seat of Government in Washing- 
ton, a joint committee of Congress, acting in connection with 
the Governors of the States and citizens appointed by the 
President. At their meeting on the 2 1st of February this com- 
mittee decided to advise additions to the White House, and 
also to open up the Mall by means of a handsome avenue to 
connect the White House grounds with the Capitol grounds. 

This committee has had several meetings, the result of 
which was this recommendation for the employment of proper 
and capable persons to report to Congress upon this subject, 
and this amendment is to carry out that suggestion. The 
proposition is simply to obtain plans, the report to be sub- 
mitted hereafter. I think the committee was unanimous in 
recommending that the appropriation should be made. 

The President pro tempore. The question is on the 
amendment which has been made. 

Mr. Stewart. Mr. President, before that passes away, I 
wish to make a suggestion. I hope that the commission will not 
obliterate the historic building known as the White House, and 
that, whatever they do, they will preserve that building with 
all its features, for, as I have said, it is historical, and I think 
it is a piece of fine architecture. If so desired, buildings can 
be erected on either side of the White House or all around; 
but whatever is done, I hope that they will leave that building 
as a legacy to the country. I think the people are by all 
odds more attached to that building and its associations than 
to any other building in the United States. 

The President pro tempore. The question is on the 
amendment of the committee. 

The amendment Avas agreed to. 

House. 

June <5, 1900. 

Mr. Cannon. Mr. Speaker, I desire to call up the con- 
ference report on the sundry civil appropriation bill, and I 
ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading of the 
report, and that the statement be read. 

The Speaker. Without objection, the statement will be 
read and the reading of the report will be omitted. 

There was no objection. 



Congressional Action. 203 

The Clerk read the statement, as follows : 

The managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disa- 
greeing votes of the two Houses on certain amendments of the Senate 
to the bill (H. R. 1 1212 ) making appropriations for sundry civil expenses 
for the fiscal year 1901, submit the following written statement in expla- 
nation of the effect of the action agreed upon as to each of said amend- 
ments and submitted in the accompanying conference report, namely: 
******* 
On No. 117: Appropriates $6,000 for expense of preparing plans for 
the enlargement of the Executive Mansion, and $4,000 to enable the 
Chief of Engineers to make an examination and report to Congress plans 
for the treatment of that section of the District of Columbia situated 
south of Pennsylvania avenue and north of B street SW. , and for a suita- 
ble connection between the Potomac and the Zoological Paiks. 

J. G. Cannon, 
W. H. Moody, 
Thos. C. McRae, 
Managers on the part of the House. 

The question was taken on agreeing to the conference 
report, and the conference report was agreed to. 

final legislation providing for joint exercises. 

House. 

December 3, /goo. 
^ Under clause 3 of Rule XXII, House bill 12283, in rela- 
tion to the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the 
establishment of the permanent seat of government in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, was introduced by Mr. Cannon, and referred 
to the Committee on Appropriations. 

December 4, 1900. 

Mr. Cannon. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee 
on Appropriations, I report back without amendment the bill 
which I send to the desk, and ask for its immediate 
consideration. 

The bill (H. R. 12283) was read, as follows: 

A BILL (H. R. 12283) in relation to the celebration of the centennial anniversary of 
the establishment of the permanent seat of government in the District of 
Columbia. 

Whereas the Senate and House of Representatives have each appointed 
a committee to act with other committees appointed respectively by the 



204 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

President of the United States and by the citizens of the District of 
Columbia (in a mass meeting assembled), which committees have in 
charge the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the establishment 
of the permanent seat of government in the District of Columbia; and 

Whereas said committees have in joint session adopted a plan of cele- 
bration which has been submitted to the President of the United States 
and by him transmitted to Congress, such plan proposing as a feature of 
the celebration the holding by the Senate and House of Representatives 
jointl}-, commemorative exercises in the Hall of the House of Representa- 
tives in the afternoon of the twelfth day of December, nineteen hundred, 
in honor of the centennial anniversary of the first session of Congress 
held in the permanent Capitol: Therefore, 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America i?i Congress assembled, That the two Houses of Con- 
gress shall assemble in the Hall of the House of Representatives on the 
twelfth day of December, nineteen hundred, at the hour of half past 
three o'clock post meridian, and that addresses on subjects bearing on 
the celebration shall be made by Senators and Representatives to be 
chosen by the joint committee mentioned in the preamble; that the 
President and ex-Presidents of the United States, the heads of the sev- 
eral Executive Departments, the Justices of the Supreme Court, repre- 
sentatives of foreign governments accredited to this Government, the 
Governors of the several States and Territories, the Commissioners of 
the District of Columbia, the Lieutenaut-General of the Army and the 
Admiral of the Navy, officers of the Army and Navy who have received 
the thanks of Congress, and all persons who have the privilege of the 
floor either of the Senate or the House, be, and are hereby, invited to be 
present on the occasion, and that the members of the committee from the 
country at large, the members of the said citizens' committee, and 
the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the committees of the National Capital 
centennial, are hereby granted the privilege of the floor of the House 
during the exercises; that the said citizens' committees shall issue cards 
of admission to such portions of the public galleries of the Hall of the 
House as may be set apart by the doorkeeper of the House for that pur- 
pose. That the Speaker of the House shall call the assembl}' to order 
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall act as presiding officer 
during the exercises. That the twelfth day of December, nineteen hun- 
dred, be a legal holiday within the District of Columbia. That the 
Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy are authorized to 
deliver to the Architect of the Capitol, for the purpose of decorating the 
Capitol, its approaches, and the reviewing stands in the Capitol grounds 
for the occasion, such United States ensigns and flags, except battle 
flags, and such signal numbers and other flags as may be spared, the 
same to be delivered to the Architect immediately, and returned by him 
not later than the thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred. The 



Congressional Action. 205 

admission of the general public to the southern portion of the Capitol, 
including the Rotunda, on the said twelfth day of December, nineteen 
hundred, shall be by card only, under the direction of the doorkeeper of 
the House. That the Commissioners of the District of Columbia are 
authorized and directed, for the occasion, to make all reasonable regula- 
tions necessary to secure the preservation of public order and protection 
of life and property, and to grant authority or permits for the use of 
such thoroughfares and sidewalks in the city of Washington as may be 
necessary for parades, and that the citizens' committee are authorized to 
erect for the occasion a reviewing stand at the east side of, or on the ' 
east steps of, the Capitol. 

There being no objection, the House proceeded to the con- 
sideration of the bill ; which was ordered to be engrossed and 
read the third time; and it was accordingly read the third 
time, and passed. 

On motion of Mr. Cannon, a motion to reconsider the last 
vote was laid on the table. 

December 5, 1900. 

Mr. Baker, from the Committee on Enrolled Bills, reported 
that the committee had examined and found truly enrolled a 
bill (H. R. 12283) in relation to the celebration of the centen- 
nial anniversary of the establishment of the permanent seat 
of Government in the District of Columbia. The Speaker 
then signed the bill. 

Senate. 

December 5, 1900. 

Mr. Hale. Mr. President, a bill has just come over from 
the House of Representatives providing for the exercises of 
the centennial celebration here on the 12th of this month. It 
is important. It simply provides for the order of exercises 
and the use of the Hall of the House of Representatives for 
the celebration. I should like very much to have it put upon 
its passage now. There is no objection to it. 

The Presiding Officer (Mr. Gallinger in the chair). 
The Chair lays before the Senate a bill from the House of 
Representatives . 

The bill (H. R. 12283) i n relation to the celebration of the 
centennial anniversary of the establishment of the permanent 
seat of Government in the District of Columbia was read for 
the first time by its title. 



206 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Mr. Cockrell. Let the bill be read the second time in full. 

The Presiding Officer. The bill will be read for the 
information of the Senate. Before the reading begins, 
the hour of 2 o'clock having arrived, the Chair lays before 
the Senate the unfinished business, which will be stated. 

The Secretary. A bill (S. 727) to promote the commerce 
and increase the foreign trade of the United States, and to 
provide auxiliary cruisers, transports, and seamen for Govern- 
ment use when necessary. 

The Presiding Officer. Without objection, the unfinished 
business will be temporarily laid aside, pending the considera- 
tion of the bill from the House, which will be read the second 
time at length. 

The bill was read the second time at length (see p. 203 etseq.). 

The Presiding Officer. Is there objection to the present 
consideration of the bill? 

There being no objection, the bill was considered as in 
Committee of the Whole. 

Mr. Cockrell. I should like to ask whether the bill 
makes the 12th day of December a national holiday? 

Mr. Hale. It makes it a legal holiday for the District of 
Columbia. The Committee 

Mr. Cockrell. For all time to come, or just simply for 
this year? 

Mr. Hale. Only for this year. The committee that had 
it in charge at the other end of the Capitol 

Mr. Cockrell. The Senator is sure that it is only for 
this year? 

Mr. Hale. Undoubtedly. 

Mr. Cockrell. If it is for all time to come, 1 am unalterably 
opposed to it. 

Mr. Hale. Let that part of the bill be read. 

Mr. Cockrell. Let that part be read again. 

Mr. Hale. I know what the intention is. The provision 
in reference to the public holiday is in the latter part of the bill. 

Mr. Cockrell. I did not catch it. There were others 
talking equally as loud while it was being read. 

Mr. Hale. Of course it ought to apply only to the present 
1 2th of December. 



Congressional Action. 207 

Mr. Platt, of Connecticut. It is on the third page of the 
bill. 

The Secretary read as follows : 

That the 12th day of December, 1900, be a legal holida3' within the 
District of Columbia. 

Mr. Hale. That is very clear. 

The Presiding Officer. If there is no amendment pro- 
posed, the bill will be reported to the Senate. 

The bill was reported to the Senate without amendment. 

Mr. Cockrell. I understand that the Senator from Maine, 
the committee, and all those interested in this matter agree 
that the 12th of December is not to be a permanent holiday, 
but only in the year 1900. 

Mr. Hale. It is so stated definitely in the bill. 

Mr. Cockrell. I know: it may be claimed 

Mr. Hale. It is the 12th of this December. There is no 
doubt about it at all. 

Mr. Cockrell. I want to have it clearly understood, because 
there are a little too many holidays already. 

The bill was ordered to its third reading, and passed. 

The preamble was agreed to. 

December 7, /goo. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. 
W. J. Browning, its Chief Clerk, announced that the Speaker 
of the House had signed the enrolled bill (H. R. 12283) in 
relation to the celebration of the centennial anniversary of 
the establishment of the permanent seat of government in 
the District of Columbia; and it was thereupon signed by the 
President pro tempore. 

House. 

December io, /poo. 

A message from the President of the United States, com- 
municated to the House of Representatives by Mr. O. L. 
Pruden, one of his secretaries, announced that the President 
had approved and signed a bill of the following title: 

H. R. 122S3. An act in relation to the celebration of the 
centennial anniversary of the establishment of the permanent 
seat of Government in the District of Columbia. 



2o8 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

preparatory to assembling of the houses for the 
exercises at the capitol on december 12. 

Senate. 

December 12, /poo. 
The Senate met at 3 o'clock p. m. 

Mr. HALE. While waiting for notice from the House of 
Representatives that it is ready to receive the Senate, I will 
ask the Senate to remain for a short time without taking 
a recess. The message will be here in a few moments, 
undoubtedly. 

The President pro tempore. Petitions and memorials are 
in order. If there be none, reports of committees are in order. 

Mr. Money. I thought when we adjourned yesterday to 
meet to-day it was the understanding that no business would 
be transacted. Am I mistaken about that order? 

The President pro tempore. The Chair is informed that 
the Journal does not show it. 

Mr. Cullom. That was the understanding. 

Mr. Hale. It was undoubtedly the understanding of the 
Senate that no business should be transacted to-day, as the 
other body does no business to-day, because it was made a 
legal holiday. Therefore I hope that no formal business will 
be received. 

The President pro tempore. Without objection, that will 
be the order. 

After a delay of ten minutes, 

The President pro tempore (at 3 o'clock and 22 minutes 
p. m.). The Chair is informed that the messenger from the 
other House is now here. 

Mr. Hale. I move that the Senate proceed to the Hall of 
the House of Representatives, there to take part in the cere- 
monials of the day. 

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate Droceeded to the 
Hall of the House of Representatives. 

The Senate returned to its Chamber at 6 o'clock and 19 
minutes p. m. 

Mr. Hale. I move that the Senate adjourn. 



Congressional Action. 209 

The motion was agreed to; and (at 6 o'clock and 20 min- 
utes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, Thursday, 
December 13, 1900, at 11 o'clock a. m. 

House. 

December- 12, igoo. 
The House met, pursuant to adjournment, at 3 o'clock and 
15 minutes p. m., and was called to order by the Speaker, the 
Hon. David B. Henderson. 

On taking the chair the Speaker was greeted with the 
applause of members. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer: 

We bless Thee, our Father in heaven, for our country, its incompara- 
ble past, its vast resources, its magnificent proportions, and the promise 
of its perpetuity and future glory; for this beautiful city, the seat of our 
Government, which through all the vicissitudes of the past has added to 
its proportions until it promises to be not only the most beautiful but 
the most interesting and influential city in all the world. 

We invoke Thy blessing upon the exercises of the day which com- 
memorates its hundredth anniversary. We are not unmindful of the 
struggles, the sacrifices, the heroic deeds of our fathers, who laid the 
foundation of our Government deep and strong and broad, and that 
eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. 

Help us to emulate the virtues of our fathers; to be watchful, zealous, 
patriotic, that we may grow to yet vaster proportions, greater usefulness 
and influence, and Thine shall be the praise. Through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. 

At this point the members of the Senate entered the House 
for the purpose of taking part in the specially appointed 
ceremonies of the day. 
H. Doc. 552 14 



FINANCE. 



The subjoined statement from the Chairman of the Finance 
Committee, accompanied by a list of the subscriptions towards 
the expenses of the Centennial Celebration, demonstrates the 
readiness with which citizens responded to the Committee's 
appeal for funds, and indicates the disposition made of the 
money subscribed to meet the local expenses of the celebration. 

October. 9, 1901. 
My Dear Sir: The finance committee, charged with raising money for the pur- 
pose of meeting expenses incident to the ceremonies commemorating the establish- 
ment of the seat of Government in Washington, beg to report that they performed 
that duty with the following result: 

Amount received through individual subscriptions $8, 481 

Received from the badge committee, sale of badges I, 500 

Total 9, 981 

After paying all bills, we had a balance of $331. 43, which, by direction of the 
executive committee, was turned over to the Hon. John W. Douglass, to be used by 
him as chairman in connection with the District Day ceremonies at the Buffalo 
Exposition. 

I take pleasure in inclosing herewith a list of names of those who subscribed, 
showing the amount in each case. I can not permit myself to conclude this report 
without congratulating the Centennial Committee on its chairman, in the person of 
yourself. 

In the preparation of the details leading up to this ceremony, you were always 
painstaking, obliging, and convincing. The address delivered by you at the White 
House was a beautiful word picture of the marvelous growth of Washington, and 
has gone into history as one of the gems of that historic event. 

Very respectfully, Myron M. Parker, 

Chairman Finance Committee. 

Hon. H. B. F. Macfarland, 

Chairman Centennial Committee, City. 

SUBSCRIBERS TO THE NATIONAL CAPITAL CENTENNIAL FUND. 

The Dewey Fund $500 Thos. F. Walsh $100 

The Riggs National Bank 250 S. W. Woodward 100 

Washington Gas Light Co 250 A. M. Lothrop 100 

The Evening Star Co 200 Crosby S. Noyes 100 

The Capital Traction Co 100 R. Ross Perry 100 

The Raleigh Hotel 100 C.C. Willard 100 

The Washington Post Co 100 J. R. McLean 100 

211 



2 1 2 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



John W. Thompson 

M.M.Parker 

John Joy Edson 

C. J. Bell 

S. E. Rossele , 

American Security and Trust Co. 

Chris. Heurich Brewing Co 

J. B. Henderson 

C. F. Norment 

H. C. Wiuship 

C.J. Hillyer 

O. G. Staples 

Thomas E. Waggaman 

Columbia National Bank 

Jas. G. Berret 

James E. Fitch 

Freeborn G. Smith 

Thomas W. Smith 

Saks & Company 

Cuno H. Rudolph 

A. Lisner 

W. W. Burdette 

Rev. Alex. Mackay-Smith 

J. H. Small & Sons 

Robert Portner 

Samuel Maddox 

G. G. Cornwell & Son 

John B.Scott 

Henry F. Blount 

Gait Brothers 

Hon. Walter S. Cox 

Jas. L. Norris 

W. C. Wittemore 

H. A. Willard 

Albright & Barker 

Hon. John W. Ross 

Hon. H. B. F. Macfarland 

Levi Woodbury 

E. S. Parker 

Wm. McKinley 

Ralph L. Gait 

Alonzo O. Bliss 

J. H. Cranford 

Hamilton & Colbert 

Wm. Gait 

Matthew G. Emery 

Charles Keidel 

G. T. Dunlop 

Theo. W. Xoyes 

Calderon Carlisle 

Chas. E. Foster 

Wayne MacVeagh 

A. S. Gillett 

W. J. Boardman 



iSioo James Lownes 

too S. Kann, Son & Co 

ioo Barber & Ross 

ioo Gifford Pinchot 

ioo Patrick Maloney 

ioo B. H. Warner 

ioo Lansburgh Brothers .... 

ioo James B. Lambie 

50 Wm. F. Mattingly 

50 Daniel Frasier 

50 L. G. Hine 

50 George Truesdell 

50 Albert M. Reed 

50 James H. McKenney. .. . 

25 E. Berliner 

25 E. F. Droop & Sons 

25 Dr. Richard Kingsman . . 

25 Jas.W. Orme 

25 Maxwell V. Z. Woodhull 

25 The Cochran Hotel 

25 F. J. Heiberger 

25 O. T. Crosby 

25 G. W. F. Swartzell 

25 A. B. Hagner 

25 John Taylor Arms 

25 Joseph L. Miller 

25 Tolbert Lanston 

25 R. Harris & Co 

25 Henry May 

25 Percy Cranford 

25 B. B. Earnshaw & Bro... 

25 Weaver Brothers 

25 H. Holserith 

25 Rufus H. Thayer 

25 G. E. Abbott 

25 Geo. Heming 

25 B. H. Stinemetz & Son . . 

25 Joseph Crawford 

25 Rt. Rev. H. Y. Satterlee . 

25 Geo. W. Brown 

25 Rev. John D. Whitney . . 

25 Henry P. Blair 

25 J. H. McGowan 

25 W. W. Johnson 

25 E. M. Gallaudet 

25 F. O. Beckett 

25 Henry C. Stewart 

25 John W. Schaefer 

25 Mrs. M. C. Audenreid . . . 

25 Dr. Danl. B. Clark 

25 J. Kennedy Stout 

25 John Cassels 

25 A. A. Wilson 

25 John Prather 



$25 
25 
25 
25 



Finance. 



213 



C. B. Church 

Geo. M. Koler 

Martin A. Knapp 

Walter C. Allen 

Conrad Becker 

A. B. Richardson 

Paul J. Pelz 

W. V. R. Berry 

Matthew Trimble 

D. A. Chambers 

Noble D. learner 

Rev. D. J. Stafford 

Rev. R. H. McKim 

Jas. A. Bates 

R. Ross Perry, jr 

Moore & Hill 

Wm. Hahn & Co 

J. V. N. Huyck 

Geo. F. Pyles 

F. D. McKenney 

Charles W. Richardson 

I.S.Stone 

Geo. A. Mills & Son . . . 

J. B. Gregg Custis 

Jas. Topham 

Byron S. Adams 

Browning & Middleton 

John Cropper 

S. C. Smoot 

Chas. J. Allen 

Wm. H. McKnew 

V. Baldwin Johnson . . . 

Thos. P. Morgan 

J. M. A. Watson 

John Cammack 

Wm. R. Speare 

A. B. Graham 

Luchs & Bro 

S. G. T. Morsell 

John T. Winter 

John F. Jarvis 

Dr. Z. T. Sowers 

Mertz & Mertz 

Otto Mears 

John L. McNeil 

Geo. W. Cook 

Geo. Field 

John B.Wight 

Thos. E. Ogram 

Jas. K. McCammon .... 

R. H. Gunnell 

H. L. Biscoe 

Chas. B. Bailey 

Geo. B. Cortelyou 



C. A. Langley f 10 

A. C. Shannon 10 

A. F. Eberly 10 

C. B. Pearson 10 

A. Gear)' Johnson 10 

G. W. Strongman 10 

G.W. Casiler ,. 10 

lv. C. Bailey 10 

G. Taylor Wade 10 

Saml. H. Edmonstou 10 

0. H. Tittman 10 

A. E. Randle 10 

Jno. J. Nolan 10 

Walter H. Acker 10 

Wm. B. Gurley 1 10 

John Callahan 10 

B. F. Leighton 10 

John C. Parker 10 

T. A. Eambert ic 

Wm. Ballantyne & Sons 10 

Jno. C. Chaney 10 

W. E. Edmonston 10 

F. P. May 10 

S. S. Shedd & Bro 10 

Anson Mills 10 

W. V. Cox 10 

Richardson & Burgess 10 

L. P. Shoemaker 10 

Edw. J. Stellwagen 10 

F. L. Moore 10 

Robert B. Caverly 10 

H. C. Ansley 10 

J. J. Darlington 10 

Alex Hecht 10 

Gibson Brothers 10 

John J. Hemphill 10 

Hornblower & Marshall 10 

W. T. Walker 10 

James M. Green 10 

Alphonso Hart 10 

A. J. Parsons 10 

S. S. Burdette 10 

Chapin Brown 10 

Robt. I. Fleming 10 

Geo. J.May 10 

Wm. Corcoran Hill 10 

Thos. M. Chatard 10 

Dulin & Martin Co 10 

Geo. F. Muth & Co 10 

A. A. Birney 10 

Dr. H. C. Yarrow 10 

M. Dyrenforth Co 10 

W. P. Kellogg 10 

Gasch Brothers 10 



214 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



Wm. F. Roberts 

John H. Magruder . . . 

C. G. Sevan 

Geo. A. Shehan 

James S. Morrill .... 

Geo. H. Harries 

John F. Waggaman . . 
Thomas J. Keane . . . 

John B. Daish 

H. A. Se3"mour 

Judd & Detweiler. . . 

P.J. Nee & Co 

The J. C. ErgoodCo. 
Chas. B. Beebe & Co 

A. J. Joyce Co 

R. S. Solomons 

Max Cohen 

W. S. Thompson 

A. C. Moses 

A. S. Cay wood 

R. L. Franklin 

Thomas Wilson .... 

E. S. Hendrick 

Hugo Worch 

John Miller 

House & Hermann. 
Andrew B. Duvall . . 

M. I. Weller 

W. C. Haskell 

Christian Xander . . . 

Owen O'Hare 

A. R. Sewen 

Dr. J. D. Morgan 

N. H. Shea 

Frank Hume 

J.G.Hill 

J. E. Berry 

Andrew Gleason .... 

Dr. J. W. Bovee 

H. V. Boynton 

Louis A. Dent 

Charles Rauscher. . . 

T. F.Schneider 

Robert Fletcher 

R. G. Rutherford . . . 

F. A. Sanner 

Nathaniel Wilson . . 
F. H. Henderson . . . 

Arthur Peter 

Frank Pilling 

A. M. McLaughin . . 

T. L. Holbrook 

Herbert G. Ogden . . 
S. C. Neale 



F. B. McGuire 

A. B. Browne 

I. T. Brown 

A. A. Thomas 

W. S. Harban 

H. H.Darneille • 

John A. Merritt 

W. P. Van Wickle 

J. & M. Strasburger 

A. F. Fox 

Arthur Cowsill 

Edw. A. Mosely 

Ellis Speare 

Charles Kraemer 

W. B. Thompson 

I. C. Slater 

J- T. Petty 

Victor G . Fisher 

I. G. Kimball 

C.J. McCubbin t. 

Daniel Laughlin 

J. H.Ashton ■. 

John F. Ellis & Co 

Newton & Gillett 

G. C. Bloomer 

C. D. Williams 

H. Rozier Dulany 

J. B. Wilson 

Frank A. Lutz, jr 

Joseph Gawler 

Hon. J. W. Foster 

Edward L. Jordan 

Jerome Hubbard 

James Y. Davis' Sons 

Hugh Reilly 

D. W. Prentiss 

Louis D. Wine 

Walter R.Wilcox 

John B. Larner 

Chas. W. Needham 

T. R.Jones 

G. W. Talbert 

H. C. McCauley 

Dr. S. E. Lewis 

S. D. Lincoln 

Cyrus Bussey 

J. H. Harris 

M. E. Crane 

J. A. Tanner 

H. H. Stoutenburgh 

Oscar Luckett 

Robert N. Harper 

Melville Lindsay 

W. B. Powell 



$10 



Finance. 



215 



W. C. Duvall 

G. L. Magruder. . . . 
Rev. F. D. Power . . 

F. N. Carver 

W.B.Todd 

E. T. Kaiser 

J.J. Halstead 

A. E. H. Johnston . . 

W. H. Rapley 

J. F. Shea 

G. A. Bartlett 

W. J. Frizzel 

S. R. Bond 

G. H. Bailey 

R. H. Darby 

J. C. Athey 

Philip Tindall 

G. W. Baird 

D. W. Glassie 

A. Gude Bros 

John R. Francis . . . 

Dr. W. R. King 

A. E. L. Leckie 

A. A. Hoe.hling, jr. . 
Percy S. Foster .... 

R. H. Terrell 

Henry B. Munii 

D. B. McCary 

H. H. Gilfry 

E. S. La Fetra 

R. W. Henderson . . 

Cash 

Frank Baker 

E. G. Siggen 

J. C. S. Burger 

Dr. J. H. N. Waring . 

E. S. Smith 

J.H. Peitz 

G. F. Cook 

P. M. Hughes 

J. W. Douglas 

N. E. Robbinson . . . 

J. D. Carmody 

N. K. Foulton 

H. P. Cheatham 

J. Fred Kelly 

C. B. Reem 

Henry C. Karr 

John A. Schneider. . 

A. T Stewart 

Wm. C. Lewis 

Dr. J. W. Bayue 

J. H. Gordon 

E. W. Donn, jr 



$5 W. H. Moses $5 

5 W. A. H. Church 5 

5 H. B. Davidson 5 

5 Dr. A. P. Fardon 5 

5 G. W. N.Custis 5 

5 J. T. Walker & Sons 5 

5 L. M. Saunders 5 

5 E. L. Johnson 5 

5 Cecil Clay 5 

5 T N. Gill 5 

5 H. N. Taplin 5 

5 S. W. Tullock 5 

5 M. S. Thompson 5 

5 G. N. Acker 5 

S T. A. Harding 5 

5 Wm. P. Lipscomb 5 

5 F. H. Thomas Company 5 

5 E. F. Heald 5 

5 Dr. F. T. Chamberlain 5 

5 W. H. Black 5 

5 Dr. Wm. Tindall 5 

5 E. S. Wescott 5 

5 Chas. Schuchert 5 

5 Ernest Wilkinson 5 

5 H. F. Simpson 5 

5 Wm. W. Dodge 5 

5 Rev. T. S. Hamlin 5 

5 Dr. S. C. Busey 5 

5 F. M. Heaton 5 

5 Geo. B. Welch 5 

5 S. F. Fisher 5 

5 Joseph Parris 5 

5 F. H. Jackson 5 

5 E. H. Tucker 5 

5 L. B. Wright 5 

5 J.G.Butler 5 

5 E. L. Hill 5 

5 Charles Graft .s 

5 B. R. Green 5 

5 C. A. Sheilds 5 

5 A. P. Clark 5 

5 J. R. Young 5 

5 T H. Pkjkford 5 

5 J- J- Appich 5 

5 Wm. H. Finckel 5 

5 G. F. Green 5 

5 Samuel H. Green 5 

5 A. W. Francis 5 

5 J. M. Cutts 5 

5 Jno. Van Schaick, jr 5 

5 Weston Flint 5 

5 J. I. Weller 5 

5 G. R. Repetti 5 

5 Earnshaw & Leary 5 



216 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



J. R. Edson 

J. M. Calpp 

H. B. Learv 

Chas. P. Lincoln 

Dr. Robert Reyburn . . . 
Herbert A. Gill 

F. \Y. Hackett 

A. Grionard 

J. A. Demonet 

Edgar M. Shaw 

H. D. Fry 

N. P. Gage 

H. C. Rizer 

Hon. M. S. Brewer 

C. H. Livingstone 

B. F. Larcombe 

T. P. Cleaves 

G. C. Maynard 

J. W. Babson 

W. M. Harper 

J. S. Swormstedt 

R. E. Pairo 

G. C. Gorham 

B. W. Reise 

T. L. De Land 

S. H. Walker 

N. L. Collamer 

W. S. Whitmore 

W. H. Proctor 

C.G.Stone 

Hon. J. B. Harlow 

D. W. Van Dyke 

Wrn. J. Flather 

Rudolph Eickhorn .... 

T. W. Sidwell 

R. E. Sullivan 

W. I. Montgomery 

C. S. Sturtevant 

W. S. Abert 

W. C. Woodward 

Jas. F. Hood 

Edwin H. Fowler 

Leonhard Stejneger . . . 
Harrison Dingman .... 

W. H. Dall 

W. R. Deeble 

R. H. Marcelles 

H.K.Gray 

J. R. Keene 

J.J. Georges & Son .... 
Rev. Byron Sunderland 
Rev. Luther B. Wilson . 

A. J. Dodge 

C. C. Bundy 



J. B. Clark 

J. W. Tolson 

E. G. Davis 

A. Hopkins 

J. R. Procter 

G. Blair 

L. B. Cutler 

John A. Stoutenburg. 

T. W. Smilie 

W. H. Veerhoff 

Henry Wells 

Wallace Radcliffe . . . 

F. E. Grice '. 

E. N. Gray 

J. L. Ewin 

Wm. D. West 

J. W. Chickering 

W. D. Baldwin 

C. C. Pursell -. 

G. T. Duulop 

A. M. Brooks 

Nathan Bickford . . . . 

E. J. Cantwell 

W . C . Dodge 

M. W. Moore 

Myer Cohen 

B. F. Hawkes 

Wm. A. De Caindry . . 

A. McKenzie 

F. R.Weller 

F. J. Heiberger, jr . . . 
P. M. Rixey 

C. C. Bryan 

F. S. Gannon 

E. W. Brown 

M. A. Ballinger 

Chas. Moore 

B. W. Hodges 

Jno. Yarrow 

Isaac Gans 

Leet Brothers 

O. S. Smith 

Geo. Thorn 

M. P. Ward 

Saml. J. Prescott. . . . 
Wm. A. Knowles 

T. V. Powderly 

C. W. Handy 

Geo. W. White 

Arthur Brice 

Herbert Putman . . . . 

R. A. Phillips 

W. A. Haley 

F. P. Reeside 



Kimon Nicolaides . . . 
J. Walter Hodges. . . . 
J. De Witt Arnold . . . 

J. W. Bulkley 

Dr. L. B. Swormstedt 

M. A. Custis 

C. M. Hendley 

Lem Towers, jr 

C. A. McKenney .... 
Thos. P. Woodward. 
Dr. T. M. Newman . . 

Ralph W. Lee 

Mrs. G. W. Harding. 
The Misses Harding 

O. W. White 

Dr. J. E. Walsh 

J. M. Chamberlain . . 

Marcus Baker 

Wm. P. Herbst 

M. F. F. Swartzell . . 

A. Shaw 

G. D. Graham 

W. Topham 



Finance. 217 

$5 Latimer & Nesbit '$3 

5 Jno. O. Knox 3 

5 Edgar Frisby 3 

5 B. N. Needs 3 

5 L. C . Wilson 3 

5 C. A. Johnson 3 

5 H. B. Looker 3 

5 W. W. Deloe 3 

5 Allan Davis 2 

5 B. F. Janney 2 

5 F. P. McDermott 2 

5 G. E. Corson 2 

5 Louis W. Perkins 2 

5 W. E. Todd 2 

5 W. E. Malley 2 

5 H. L. Prime 2 

5 J. H. Hill 2 

3 E. M. Terrell 2 

3 J. L. Kennedy 2 

3 N. N. McCullough I 2 

3 Total S,48i 

3 



APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



Page, 
i. The coming of the white man, and the founding of the National Capital. 

By Ainsworth R. Spofford 22I 

2. Removal of the Government to the District of Columbia in 1800. By Ains- 

worth R. Spofford . 

3. Removal of the seat of government to Washington. By W. B. Bryan 253 

4. The centennial of the permanent seat of the Government of the United 

States. By Samuel C. Busey • 2f r, 

5. Locating the Capital. By Gaillard Hunt S n i 

6. Sketch of the various forms of local government in the District of Colum- 

bia: with list of Washington city officials. By W. B. Bryan 281 

7. Plans for treatment of that portion of the District of Columbia south of 

Pennsylvania avenue and north of B street S.W., and for a connection 
between Potomac and Zoological parks , [q 

S. Books, pamphlets, periodicals, maps, and original plans of the "Centennial 
Exhibition " in the Division of Prints, Library of Congress, Washington. 
Compiled by Mr. Arthur J. Parsons, Chief of the Division of Prints, 
Library of Congress ■ , 2 

9. Beautifying the National Capital. By W. V. Cox, secretary of the Joint 
Committee 

219 



THE COMING OF THE WHITE MAN, AND THE 
FOUNDING OF THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 1 



By Ainsworth R. Spofford, LL.D. 



In this age, when nearly all the old histories have to be rewritten, 
when every fact is questioned, and every opinion must show its reason 
for being, I am honored with a request to outline the early history of 
the region in which it is our happiness to live. 

What manner of people were they who dwelt in these regions of the 
globe a hundred years ago? What was their prevailing character, edu- 
cation, religion? What kind of houses did they dwell in? What were 
their manners and habits, their costume, employments, amusements, 
domestic regimen, and social life? I have sought diligently for such 
answers to these questions as exist in contemporaneous journals, letters, 
and travelers' observations, since no other authorities than those having 
personal knowledge can be trusted. What I have gathered, though 
greatly condensed, may serve to give a fairly truthful picture of the life 
of the white man in Maryland and Virginia at the time when our 
National Capital was carved out of the territories of those contiguous 
States. 

First, however, I must briefly establish the chronology of the earlier 
coming of the white man. Passing by the Norse and the Spanish dis- 
coveries of the New World as foreign to our theme, let us note the first 
English settlements on American soil. Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Hum- 
phrey Gilbert divide between them the honor of having been the father 
of British- American colonization. Gilbert, in 1578, obtained from Queen 
Elizabeth a patent for planting an English colony in America. Raleigh, 
half-brother to Gilbert, was interested in the scheme, and sailed with 
him in 1578 for America. Gilbert was forced to return, but Raleigh 
made an attack on Spanish vessels near the Cape Verde Islands, and 
then sailed for England in 1579. In 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed 
on his second voyage, took possession of Newfoundland, and sailed to 
the coast of New England, but was lost at sea in 1584. That year 
Raleigh secured a charter for planting the new lands in America, and 
sent out an expedition which left a colony on Roanoke Island, in 'North 

■Read before the Washington Academy of Sciences, April 15, 1S99, and printed 
in the Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci., January, 1900. 

221 



222 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Carolina, in 1585. Queen Elizabeth named the whole region: Virginia, 
and appointed Sir Walter governor of Virginia. The Roanoke colony 
did not prosper and was soon abandoned. 

VIRGINIA. 

In 1606 the first Virginia Company was formed in London, with larger 
means and a distinct purpose of permanent settlement in America. 
The company consisted of noblemen, gentlemen, and merchants of Lon- 
don; was known as "the London Company for Virginia," and some- 
times called "the Adventurers for Virginia." The manuscript records 
of their careful and systematic government of Virginia now form one of 
the most precious possessions of the Library of Congress. The company 
was granted a royal charter, with exclusive right to occupy the regions 
between 34 and 38 , or from Cape Fear to southern Mar3'land. The 
Virginia Company, like the East India Company, was a commercial 
organization. The first shipload of emigrants numbered 105, of whom 
48 were classed as "gentlemen," while there were unhappily only 12 
laborers and very few mechanics. The voyage occupied four months — 
from January 1 to April 26, 1607. They sailed up the broad river Pow- 
hatan, which they renamed the James, in honor of the King, and founded 
Jamestown on a low and swampy peninsula at the mouth of the Chick - 
ahominy. This was in direct violation of their instructions, "neither 
must you plant in a low and moist place, because it will prove unhealth- 
ful." The colonists paid dearly for their rashness. Marsh fevers, with 
careless regimen, decimated their ranks, and in six months 50 men, or 
one-half the colony, had died. 

The red man, too, was offended by the coming of the white man. 
After the first wild surprise and the terror of fire-arms were recovered 
from, the savages began their endeavors to get rid of the unwelcome 
guests. Crafty and cunning, bloodthirsty and cruel, they cut off strag- 
gling parties in ambush, and finally killed 347 settlers in one day by a 
concerted massacre, after the infant colony had grown to some 2,000 
souls. Women and children alike were slaughtered without mercy. 
Days of sore trial and nights of fear and distress succeeded to the bril- 
liant hopes of the early emigrants. Provisions often failed, what corn 
they got from the Indians was quickly consumed, and famine stared them 
in the face. Too many of the colony were shiftless adventurers, unac- 
customed and unwilling to work, and the fruitful soil, ready to yield 
luxuriant crops, remained largely untilled. The hardy and resolute 
Capt. John Smith, tired of the idle company that surrounded him, set 
out on an expedition of discovery, and visited Powhatan, the emperor 
of the Virginia tribes, at Werowocomoco. Later, he sailed up the Poto- 
mac River, and, it is supposed rather than proven, saw the site of the 
present District of Columbia. 

So much interest attaches to the long controversy over John Smith's 



Founding of the National Capital. 223 

claims to honor and credence as pioneer and historian that I may be 
pardoned for briefing some of the points involved. Until recently all 
histories of Virginia have been built upon Smith's early narratives, the 
writers simply repeating one another. His romantic history was 
accepted as unquestioned until modern criticism took hold of it and 
applied searching analysis to its many improbabilities. The story of 
his rescue from a bloody death by Pocahontas has been printed in hun- 
dreds of volumes, and has even been perpetuated in a grotesque sculpture 
by Capellano in the Rotunda at Washington — a harrowing example of 
the barbaric art that prevails in yonder Capitol. This story is wholly 
unsupported by any contemporaneous evidence. Not one of the early 
chroniclers of Virginia— Wingfield, Spelman, Bullock, Jones, Beverly- 
alludes to it. Smith himself published two books on Virginia soon after 
the alleged rescue, the "True Relation," in 1608, and the "Map of 
Virginia," in 1612, in which he tells of his treatment by Powhatan, but 
not a word of any contemplated massacre. His first recorded statement 
of it was in a letter eight years after to Gueen Anne, in 161 6, when he 
said Pocahontas had saved his life. This was expanded in his ' ' Generall 
Historie, " 1624, sixteen years after the event, into the detailed romance 
of the two great stones, with Captain Smith dragged and laid out upon 
them, the savages standing ready with clubs to beat out his brains, and 
Pocahontas getting his head in her arms and laying her own head upon 
his to save him from death. Smith's other works, moreover, abound in 
marvelous tales of his prowess and escapes in Africa and Asia, where a 
fair Turkish princess also saves his life. The least that can be said in 
judging of the strange tale is that it is not proven. Among the histor- 
ical writers who discredit it are Neill, Deane, Alexander Brown, Henry 
Adams, Bancroft, Lodge, Eggleston, Charles Dudley Warner, Gay, 
Palfrey, and Doyle. On the other hand, among the modern writers who 
credit it are W. W. Henry, Howison, Bruce, Arber, and John Fiske. 

It may, indeed, be thought that the discredit of John Smith has 
recently been carried too far. The reverse swing of the pendulum of 
historic judgment may have done injustice to one who must ever remain 
a notable figure in American history. Capt. John Smith was an egotist 
and a braggart, but he was a great deal more. He was possessed of ardor, 
courage, penetration, industry, and perseverance. Had he remained 
longer in the colony (for his whole service in Virginia covered only two 
and a half years, from 28 to 30 years of his age) he might have made a 
much greater record. As it was, he did more for the struggling colony 
in its first two years than any other man, and with less means. He 
explored, with cool daring, amid tribes of hostile savages, the James 
River, the Chickahominy, and the Potomac. He made the first map of 
Virginia worthy of the name, a map, considering the obstacles in the 
way and the nonexisting data, of surprising accuracy. He had the 
sense to despise the gold fever, and the abortive aims of his fellow- 
H. Doc. 552 15 



224 » Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

adventurers, and to devote himself to practical utilities with his utmost 
energy. His sagacity made him deal with the cunning and treacherous 
savages with more success than any others. In his short term of the 
presidency of the colony he built defenses, foraged successfully for sup- 
plies of corn in the starving time, and required lazy vagabonds to work. 
He was surrounded by dissensions and difficulties of ever}' kind. The 
absurd ordinance of the London Virginia Company, that the colonists 
should share all in common, ended in the idlers and the shirks sponging 
upon the community. Then, as now, communism meant that the industri- 
ous and the capable should labor to support the indolent and the shiftless. 
If John Smith, in his many writings, sometimes boasted more than other 
men, he had also done more. Men are rare who can be trusted to write 
their own biography. Let us have charity for poor John Smith, vain 
though he may have been, as we behold him vanishing, all blackened 
with powder, from the Virginia for which he had done so much, bearing 
with stout heart the heavy "white man's burden." 

As years rolled on, there came a stead}' influx of emigrants to Vir- 
ginia. Colony after colony crossed the sea, until, about 1620, there 
were landed some 1,100 annually. In Hotteu's "Original Lists of Per- 
sons of Quality, Emigrants," etc., London, 1874, the only extensive 
published record of early emigrants to America, are some 15,000 names. 
But among the multitude of eager searchers who daily haunt our libra- 
ries in quest of the missing link that shall connect them with British 
ancestors, scarcely one in a hundred ever finds it. Out of the hundreds 
of shiploads of early emigrants many kept no records, and of many 
more the records are lost. For the purposes of the genealogist, in most 
cases, the coming of the white man was in vain. 

The progress of the colony in the arts of peace was steady and great. 
In 1649 there were 11 mills to grind corn and 6 public breweries. Iron 
and bricks were manufactured in large quantities. The colony was 
hampered in its foreign commerce by the narrow and odious navigation 
laws of England, which prohibited her colonies from trading with an}' 
other nation, thus cutting off a lucrative trade which might have made 
all countries tributary to Virginia's great staple — tobacco. 

In 1670 the peace of the colony was disturbed by the great number of 
desperate villains sent over from the prisons of England, and the coun- 
cil of Virginia ordered that no vessel should be allowed "to bring in 
any jaile-birds after January next." Negro slavery was introduced as 
early as 1619, by importation from Africa, and continued a growing 
evil, demoralizing to a certain degree both races, though the profits of 
slave labor insured its perpetuation. 

That one may form an intelligent judgment of the country and period 
that we contemplate, there should be brought into view a distinct idea 
of the natural features of Virginia. The country was held for hun- 
dreds of miles by barbarous tribes of aborigines, forming a loose confed- 



Founding of the National Capital. 225 

eracy, each under its own Werowance, or chief, but subject to the 
powerful king, Powhatan. The Virginia Company's grant extended 
about 240 miles north and south, with no defined limit westward. Its 
territory was washed by four noble tide-water rivers — the James, the 
York, the Rappahannock, and the Potomac — each having many tributa- 
ries. The ample Chesapeake Bay, full of convenient and safe harbors, 
with good anchorage open to commerce from one end of the year to the 
other, supplied a coast line of 150 miles. The magnificent harbor of 
Hampton Roads could float all the navies of the world. The soil, cov- 
ered mostly by vast primeval forests, was of such variety and fertility as 
to produce almost every kind of plant requisite for the benefit of man. 
"The vesture of the earth," says Strachey, "doth manifestly prove the 
nature of the soyle in most places to be lusty and very rich. There are 
pines infinite, especially by the sea coast." The early settlers soon 
introduced all varieties of fruits and vegetables indigenous to England, 
which, added to the staple agricultural products native to Virginia — 
Indian corn, sweet potatoes, grapes, melons, etc. — soon loaded the 
tables of the inhabitants with viands in rich profusion. Wild cherries, 
currants, mulberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries of deli- 
cate flavor abounded, and the woods were prolific of chestnuts, chinqua- 
pins, hazelnuts, peanuts, and walnuts. The forests were endless groves 
of stately trees — oak, pine, maple, hemlock, walnut, ash, chestnut, sas- 
safras, and poplar. Karly" voyagers tell of the sweet aromatic odors 
blowing off the shore from the forests of balsam pines. The rich and 
varied flora of the country loaded the summer air with fragrance, the 
wild bees laid their stores of honey in the woods, the native song birds 
filled the air with melody. 

The climate, midway between the extremes of heat and cold, was 
genial and wholesome, save in low and marshy regions, and cattle, sheep, 
and swine could be kept in most winter seasons in the open air. ' ' I 
believe," says Beverly (1705), "it is as healthy a country as any under 
heaven; but the extraordinary pleasantness of the weather and plenty 
of the fruit lead people into many temptations. If one impartially con- 
siders all the advantages of this country, as nature made it, he must allow 
it to be as fine a place as any in the universe. ' ' 

For animal food the Virginians found all which the most eupeptic 
Britons had on their tables, and in addition wild bears, opossums, rab- 
bits, and squirrels. The waters, both fresh and salt, literally swarmed 
with fish — the toothsome shad, the delicate rock-fish, the multitudinous 
herring, the lively bass, the immense sturgeon, with crabs and oysters in 
inexhaustible shoals along the bays and rivers. Of the feathered tribes 
were wild turkeys, pigeons, partridges, and water fowl in clouds, the 
delicious canvas-back ducks feeding on the wild celery of the bays and 
inlets. Quaint old Alsop, describing the eastern shore on the Chesa- 
peake Bay, says the water fowl "arrive in milliouous multitudes about 



226 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

the middle of September and take their winged farewell about the midst 
of March. " " There be wild turkeys extream large, ' ' wrote Dr. Clay- 
ton to the Royal Society in 1688, and he gives their weight at 50 to 60 
pounds each. 

Tobacco, the great indigenous staple of Virginia, grew luxuriantly in 
her soil, became to her planters a great source of wealth, a world monop- 
oly for more than a century, and supplied a currency and a measure of 
value. 

With their material wants supplied thus bountifully by all the king- 
doms of nature, the Virginia planters of later years formed a class of 
men who lived generously and entertained handsomely. Says the his- 
torian Beverly: "The gentry pretend to have their victuals drest and 
served up as nicely as if they were in London. ' ' Indeed, the intercourse 
between Virginia 1 and the old country was by no means infrequent. 
Visits to relatives abroad, or from those abroad to their friends in Amer- 
ica, were of constant occurrence. The social intercourse at home was 
intimate and lively. Daily almost the gentlemen and ladies of the 
rural gentry would mount their horses (for carriages were but little used) 
and ride three, five, ten, or more miles to visit neighbors, dining 
together and returning in the evening. Every house was a house of 
entertainment, for hotels were almost unknown. Any decent stranger 
was sure of welcome. There were frequent card parties, horse races, 
shooting matches, athletic sports (like quoits, wrestling, fencing, and 
running), river parties, hunting meets, and riding matches. The tables 
of well-to-do citizens were always supplied with malt liquors, wines, 
brandy, or rum. The favorite wine was Madeira, though claret, port, 
and Sauterne were not uncommon. A generous, not to say profuse, 
style of living prevailed, and "old-fashioned Virginia hospitality" was 
a term daily illustrated in a community where George Washington 
records that his family did not once sit down to dinner alone for twenty 
years. 

Dress and manners partook largely of the style and habits of cultivated 
people in Europe at the period. The Rev. Hugh Jones records that at 
Williamsburg, the early capital, ' ' may be seen a great number of hand- 
some, well dressed, compleat gentlemen." Knee breeches, silken hose, 
and shoe buckles of shining silver were prevalent, and velvet was the 
favorite wear for gentlemen's gala dress. Lace ruffles and snow-white 
cravats set off a costume, which, if not more sensible than that now in 
vogue, was at least more picturesque. 

With their large leisure, it may be thought that Virginia gentlemen 
of a century ago were prone to idleness. Nothing could be further from 
the truth as regards the leading men among them. They were busy with 
much felling of trees, fencing of grounds, plantation cares, with land sur- 
veys and building improvements, with law suits, with roads and bridges, 
with local elections and church business, with school arrangements, with 



Founding of the National Capital. 227 

family provisions, and with correspondence at home and abroad. The 
worm fence, made of rough rails laid zig-zag fashion, became known the 
country over as the Virginia fence. 

The prevalent idea that intelligence was at a low ebb in early Virginia 
must yield to authentic facts. In spite of the oft-quoted dictum of the 
narrow-minded Governor Berkeley, "I thank God there are no free 
schools nor printing," it is a fact that the first free school founded in 
America was in Virginia (1622); in 1693 William and Mary College was 
established, and elementary schools were common; in 1736 a newspaper 
was successfully established at Williamsburg, and in 1748 education was 
made compulsory by legislative act in case of parental neglect. Ninety- 
four per cent of the inhabitants of Norfolk County could write, as 
shown by the marriage bonds on record. Private libraries, too, were 
common in many Virginia homes. In fact, the progenitors of such men 
as Washington, Jefferson, Mason, Madison, and others, were far from 
wanting in intellectual attainments. 

The historian Jones records of the Virginia colon}' in 1724 that there 
were very few poor people and no beggars therein. The planters, and 
even the negroes, "spoke good English, without idiom or tone." He 
adds that the citizens generally wore good clothes, had "comely, hand- 
some persons," and good manners and address. "The climate," said 
he, "makes them bright and of excellent sense." 

It is not singular that we find scattered through the literature of the 
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries numerous encomiums upon Vir- 
ginia. Says the quaint historian Beverly: "Here people enjoy all the 
benefits of a warm sun, and by their shady trees are protected from its 
inconvenience. Here all their senses are entertained with an endless 
succession of native pleasures." The chronicler of Newport's voyage 
wrote that Virginia might ' ' claim the prerogative over the most pleas- 
ant places in the world." Edward Williams wrote, in 1650, "the mel- 
ancholiest eye in the world can not look upon it without contentment, 
nor content himself without admiration." Hugh Jones records: "Vir- 
ginia is esteemed one of the most valuable gems in the crown of Great 
Britain " In England the newly found virgin land excited a wide 
spread interest, reflected by numerous allusions in dramatic and poetic 
literature. Spenser dedicated his Faerie Queen (1596) to "Elizabeth, 
Queen of England, Ireland, France, and Virginia." At a later period 
Thomas Neals was made by royal patent ' ' Postmaster-general of Vir- 
ginia and other parts of North America." Arthur Barlowe wrote: 
"The soil is the most plentiful, sweet, fruitful, and wholesome of all 
the world. ' ' Another writer speaks enthusiastically of ' ' the dear strand 
of Virginia, earth's only paradise." The early historian Hamor (1615) 
tells of the ' ' goodlie rivers, nowhere else to be paralleled, ' ' and he says 
there were "wilde pigeons in winter beyond number or imagination, so 
thicke that they have even shadowed the skie. ' ' Another adds: ' ' There 



228 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

are infinite hogges in heards all over the woods." Ralph Lane says: 
"We have discovered the main to be the goodliest soil under the cope 
of heaven. ' ' Capt. John Smith wrote: ' ' Heaven and earth never agreed 
better to frame a place for man's habitation." 

Thomas Hariot's "Brief and true report of the new-found land in Vir- 
ginia," 1588, was the first published account, but between this and 1700 
more than thirty distinct books and pamphlets respecting Virginia were 
published, though a complete Virginia bibliography is still to seek. 
Beverly's "Virginia," within two years of its appearance in 1705, was 
translated into French, and three times reprinted at Paris and Amster- 
dam. For more than a century before Washington's time a constant 
succession of British ships brought colonists to Virginia, and though 
many returned, dissatisfied with the limited means for amassing wealth, 
or the absence of advantages to which they had been accustomed, the 
country grew more and more populous continually. 

MARYLAND. 

The story of Maryland's first settlement by the white man is familiar. 
Under King Charles's charter of 1632, Caecilius Calvert, Second Lord 
Baltimore, fitted out an expedition of about " two hundred gentlemen 
and their servants," who embarked with his brother, Leonard Calvert, 
as governor of the colony. They landed in Chesapeake Ba3 r in March, 
1634, and, sailing up the Potomac, founded the town of St. Marys about 
12 miles from its mouth. 

Father Andrew White, the pious Catholic missionary, who sailed with 
this colonial expedition, and whose name is held in honor to this day, 
labored for years among the Patuxent, Piscataway, and Patapsco Indians. 
He narrates in simple Latin the conversion of many savages, including 
the Queen of Patuxent, the King of the Anacostans, and the Queen of 
Port Tobacco. He tells how Governor Calvert visited "a village which 
is called Potomac, a name derived from the river," which he describes 
thus : "A larger or more beautiful river I have never seen. The Thames, 
compared with it, can scarcely be considered a rivulet." The good 
father extols the excellence of the native preparations of Indian corn — 
" quern 'pone' et ' omini ' appellantur." 

I can not dwell upon the history of Maryland as a colony, but will 
come to some characteristic features of those parts of the State adjacent 
to Washington in the latter part of the last century. 

At Upper Marlborough, count} 7 seat of Prince George, and only 16 
miles from Washington, there was a grand assembly room, where balls 
were held and plays acted. Here people flocked to see the races, which 
lasted a week, winding up with a grand ball, the dancing being kept up 
till near morning, to the music of two or three fiddles and a clarinet or 
flute. The houses of the town were all crowded by visitors from George- 
town, Alexandria, Baltimore, and the whole country around. The best 
of manners prevailed and no disorder nor intoxication was tolerated. 



Founding of the National Capital. 229 

The second theater in the United States was opened at Annapolis in 
1752, by an excellent troupe known as "the Company of Comedians 
from Virginia, ' ' where they had played at Williamsburg the same year, 
and who played at Annapolis and Upper Marlborough for more than 
twenty years. New York had plays only two years earlier, in 1750, and 
Philadelphia in 1749. The French abbe Robin, who traveled in Mary- 
land in 1 78 1 , records that there was ' ' more wealth and luxury in An- 
napolis than in any other city which I have visited in America. ' ' Indeed, 
the style of living among prosperous citizens was of a kind which may 
be characterized as generous and even profuse. The gentlemen wore 
velvet coats, knee breeches, swords, lace ruffles, wigs, cocked hats laced 
with gold or silver, and snuff boxes. The ladies were dressed in silks, 
satins, lace and brocade ; they frizzed and rouged, and both sexes wore 
powdered hair. Brissot, the French traveler, in 1790 tells us that the 
ladies' dress was " of the most brilliant silks, gauzes, hats, and borrowed 
hair." On their heads were pyramids of towering turbans, to which 
the odious and sometimes intolerable theater hat of to-day, with its for- 
tification of an aviary or conservatory, destructive of human vision and 
peace of mind, presents a too close analogy. But few jewels were worn, 
for they were not common in that age. In the country women wore 
bonnets called "calashes," the front stiffened with cane and projecting 
12 or 15 inches from the face horizontally. These were described, no 
doubt correctly, as the height of ugliness. 

In those days horse races abounded and cock fights were common 
diversions, while fine old Virginia gentlemen sometimes staked their 
negroes on the result. Everybody was fond of field sports, and even the 
clergy joined in the chase. Horses were so common that no one ever 
thought of walking to any distance.. Most roads were merely bridle paths. 
Eadies rode to the chase or to church on horseback, and went to balls in 
the evenings mounted on side saddles, with scarlet riding habits tied 
over their white satin dresses. The men of Maryland and Virginia were 
like centaurs, who lived in the saddle, and thought nothing of pursuing 
a fox chase 30 miles, through two or three counties. Even the grave 
and sedate George Washington would set off fox hunting at 5 o'clock on 
a frosty morning, with a party of youngsters, or oversee the hauling of 
a seine of shad in the Potomac, at the head of a gang of yelling negroes. 
Such severe training in outdoor life gave vigor and endurance to the 
physical system, and made the Maryland Continentals the flower of the 
Revolutionary armies. 

The, houses of those days were always surrounded with ample grounds, 
and even in the cities such a thing as a block of houses was unknown. 
The old Maryland term "manor" was applied to the country estates, 
which always had a mansion with ample porch in front, where the mem- 
bers of the family sat in fine weather for air and shade, with a wide hall 
running through the house for ventilation. Large estates had their own 
mills for grinding flour and meal, meat house, corn house, henhouse, and 



230 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

many servants' outbuildings, and even the smallest farmhouses had a 
smokehouse for curing the domestic pork and beef. Within there 
reigned a cheerful hospitality. The huge, yawning chimney ate up 
untold cords of wood (for coal was then unknown), and in summer tea 
was served alfresco on the lawn. Cool tankards of sangaree or lemon 
punch stood invitingly in the hall, and in the cellar was a cask of Bur- 
gundy and often a pipe of Madeira. West India rum, however, was the 
favorite beverage of the less wealthy class, because it was cheap, and 
that was bought by the puncheon. The tables were supplied with a 
bountiful variety of viands to tempt the palate. ' At breakfast there were 
huge mounds of muffins, hot corn pone, plates of Maryland biscuit, 
steaming pots of coffee and tea, pigs' trotters and venison steak, fresh 
fish, or succulent oysters or soft-shell crabs. The dinner table rejoiced 
in great joints of beef or mutton, roast goose and cider apple sauce, 
stewed rabbits, wild turkey, roast pig or opossum, and often boiled 
corned beef, pork, and cabbage, with sweet potatoes, juicy succotash, 
and other vegetables, and dessert of plum pudding and pumpkin pies. 
You will concur with me that the eating and drinking were somewhat 
hearty. 

Guests were numerous, and so open was the hospitality that no house 
was ever considered full, though each room (and they were large) had 
half a dozen or more of guests; and it was the custom to serve all with 
mint juleps in summer and hot rum or whisky in winter upon rising in 
the morning. People from the North or from Europe called the style of 
living very extravagant. In fact, many old families kept up a hospitality 
so expensive that they were almost ruined by it, and farms were mort- 
gaged recklessly to keep up appearances. 

Both in Maryland and Virginia nothing was more striking than the 
gallantry and deference shown by men of all classes toward the fairer 
sex. The unanimous sentiment of the people stood for the honor of 
man and the virtue of woman, and every offense against either was 
quickly resented. 

The legal interest was 6 per cent on mone3 r loans and 8 per cent on 
tobacco loans, but many were compelled to borrow at usury, even as 
high as 24 per cent a year. The ruinous expedient of issuing irredeem- 
able paper money — that delusion and snare of inexperienced states and 
nations — was more than once resorted to, with the always certain result 
of speculation, collapse, and heavy loss to the people. In the scarcity 
of gold and silver, tobacco, the one product of the land which had a sure 
commercial value, became the currency and was made a legal tender in 
i733 — on e of the few instances in which the remedy was better than the 
disease. The whole financial fabric of Maryland and Virginia rested 
upon tobacco. The colonial governors salaries were paid in tobacco. 
The doctor's bill was settled by so many pounds of tobacco. The attor- 
ney's fee was fixed at 100 pounds of tobacco in minor cases and 200 



Founding of the National Capital. 231 

pounds in important ones. All day laborers' and servants' wages were 
paid in tobacco. The Virginia Company in 1621 sent over one widow 
and 1 1 maids for wives, requiring that ' ' every man that marries them 
give one hundred and twenty weight of best leaf tobacco for each of 
them" to pay charges. Judges and jurymen alike were paid in tobacco. 
The clergy tax was 40 pounds of tobacco for every citizen, so that his 
very religion and his hope of heaven was measured by tobacco. 

So far was the ever-growing planting of tobacco carried, year after 
year, that nearly all the rich virgin lands of Maryland and Virginia were 
exhausted and ruined by it. Most of the pine-grown and shrub-covered 
thickets that surround Washington to-day represent worn-out and aban- 
doned tobacco fields, on both sides of the Potomac. A century ago the 
huge hogsheads of tobacco were rolled to market for many miles, each 
rigged with tongue and axle, and propelled up hill or held back down 
hill by negroes, mules, and oxen. 

The first white man authentically known to have set foot on the soil 
of the District of Columbia was, Capt. Henry Fleet, an English mariner 
and trader. He made an expedition up the Potomac in 1632, to buy 
beaver furs from the Indians, whose language he knew, having been 
much among them in Virginia. He anchored 6 miles below the Falls of 
the Potomac, where he got 300 weight of beaver from the Nacostines, or 
Anacostian tribe, whose name is perpetuated in the Eastern Branch of 
the Potomac. Fleet thus describes the region : 

This place, beyond all question, is the most pleasant and healthful place, in all 
this country, and most convenient for habitation; the air temperate in summer, and 
not violent in winter. It aboundeth with all manner of fish. And as for deer, 
bears, buffaloes, turkeys, the woods do swarm with them, and the soil is exceedingly 
fertile. * * * The 27th of June I manned my shallop and went up with the 
flood, the tide rising about four feet in height at this place. We had not rowed 
above three miles, when one might hear the falls to roar, about six miles distant, by 
which it appears that the river is separated with rocks, but only in that one place, 
for beyond is a fair river. 

This Henry Fleet was a member of the Maryland house of assembly 
in 1638, and of the Virginia house of burgesses in 1652. He' lived for a 
time near the mouth of the Potomac, at a place still known as Fleet's 
Point. 

RELIGIOUS INTERESTS. 

What of the religion of those who built up the region in which we 
live? All records attest that the earliest settlers were zealous observers 
of religious rites. At their first setting foot on the shores of the great 
Bay of Chesapeake the pioneers of 1607 planted a cross, and baptized 
the point Cape Henry. Maryland was consecrated to Christ at St. 
Marys by the planting of a cross, in which Catholics and Protestants 
participated. On laying out the site of Jamestown, one of the earliest 
buildings to go up was a church. Nearly every vessel from England 



232 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

bore one or more clergymen. When the council that governed the little 
colonj- had quarreled and made up their differences, they partook together 
of the communion, in token of reconciliation. 

But the laws first adopted for the government of the colon}' show more 
clearly what severity of religious zeal pervaded the polity of the time. 
In the ' ' Lawes and Orders, Divine, Politique, and Martial, for the Colony 
in Virginia," printed in 161 2, is this stringent provision: 

That no man blaspheme God's holy name upon paine of death. That no man 
speake impiously or maliciously against the holy and blessed Trinitie or against the 
knowne Articles of the Christian faith, upon paine of death. 

Ever}- man and woman duly twice a day upon the first towling of the bell shall 
upon the working daies repaire unto the church, to hear divine Service, upon pain of 
losing his or her dayes allowance for the first omission, for the second to be whipt, 
and for the third to be condemned to the Gallies for six Moneths. 

And even in Maryland, so loudly praised for freedom of opinion in 
religion, this worse than Draconian code was enacted in 1649, iu " An act 
concerning religion ' ' : 

Be it ordered and enacted by the right honorable Cecilivs, lord baron of Baltimore, 
with the advice and consent of this General Assembly, that whatsoever person within 
this province shall blaspheme God, that is, curse him, or shall deny our Saviour 
Jesus Christ to be the Sonne of God, or shall deny the Holy Trinity, the Father, 
Sonne, and Holy Ghost, or the Godhead of any of the said Three persons of the 
Trinity, or the Unity of the Godhead, or shall utter any reproachfull speeches, words, 
or language, concerning the said Holy Trinity, or any of the said three persons 
thereof, shall be punished with death, and confiscation of all his land and goods 
to the Lord Proprietor and his heires. 

This act proceeds to provide that if any one shall disturb or molest 
any person professing to believe in Jesus Christ, for or in respect of his 
religion, or the free exercise thereof, such offender shall pay treble 
damages to the person so wronged or molested, besides the sum of 20 
shillings sterling in money, one-half to the lord proprietary and the 
other half to the party so wronged or molested. 

Thus we find this so-called "act of toleration," which punished by 
fine any one who interfered with another's free exercise of his religion, 
also punished with death any one who preferred to doubt the doctrine of 
the Trinity or the Godhead of Christ. It gave religious freedom with 
one hand and took it away with the other. Need we wonder that it was 
called by some ' ' a cursed intolerable toleration ' ' ? 

But these statutes were too barbarous to be executed, and no one was 
put to death in either colony under them, showing how much men were 
better than their laws and more liberal than their creeds. When we 
shudder at finding in the Virginia code of 161 2 the penalty of death 
ordained for 50 different offenses, we are reminded that far more trifling 
offenses were then punished by death in England, where the sixteenth 
and seventeenth centuries witnessed multitudes of bloody beheadings, 
hangings, and burnings at the stake. We who live in the full blaze of 



Founding of the National Capital. 233 

the light that is poured upon the radiant path of human progress may 
thank God that the ages are gone when men were murdered for their 
beliefs, their misbeliefs, or their unbeliefs. 

But was there no persecution for religion's sake in colonial days? 
History records that in 1663 two Quaker women were flogged, under 
Virginia laws, 32 lashes each with a nine-corded whip, every stroke of 
which drew blood. The same year the Virginia assembly enacted that 
any separatists from the Church of England, assembled for worship, 
should be fined 200 pounds of tobacco, and for the third offense should 
be banished from the colony. The creed and the forms of the Church 
of England were established as the sole tolerated religion. People who 
refused to have their children baptized were fined 2,000 pounds of 
tobacco. Any master of a ship who brought in a Quaker was fined 5,000 
pounds of tobacco. George Wilson, a Quaker preacher, writes in 1662 
' ' from that dirty dungeon in Jamestown, ' ' where he was imprisoned for his 
belief. In 1723 blasphemy was punished by boring through the tongue 
which had offended. In 1756 every man was taxed 40 pounds of tobacco 
annually for the benefit of the clergy, and 100 per cent was added to 
all taxes to be paid by any Catholic. In 1662 Quakers were fined 20 
pounds for absenting themselves from church, and no nonconformist 
could teach religion under pain of banishment. Most of these infamous 
laws survived until Thomas Jefferson's Virginia "act for establishing 
religious freedom," passed in 1785, abolished the last relic of the bar- 
barism of the dark ages. 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

In more modern days church observances appear to have been gen- 
eral, though not, as formerly, compulsory. In Georgetown, which was 
founded in 1751, a Presbyterian Church was built in 1792, and enlarged 
by subscription in 1802, when President Jefferson contributed $75 to that 
object. In 1792 the first Catholic Church in Georgetown (now Trinity 
Church) was founded. The first Presbyterian Church in Washington 
was founded as early as 1795, with Rev. John Breckenridge as pastor. 
It first met in a carpenter shop, used for building the President's house. 
As illustrating the liberal tendency of the time, it is recorded that at 
Georgetown the Bridge Street Presbyterian Church was occupied together 
by Baptists, Methodists, and Episcopalians, who celebrated the com- 
munion sendee along with the Presbyterians. 

From the earliest Washington newspaper, published from 1796 to 1798, 
the Washington Gazette, of which the only known file is preserved in the 
Library of Congress, one learns curious particulars of the beginning of 
things in this District a century ago. A nail factory was started in 1796 at 
Greenleaf 's Point, and a hat factory is advertised as an auspicious novelty. 
William Cranch, afterwards judge of the District court, advertised for 
' ' a sober, industrious woman who understands housework. Good wages 



234 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

will be paid. N. B. No objection will be made as to color." As this 
notice stood for six weeks, free labor must have been scarce in Wash- 
ington. J. V. Thomas, bookseller, advertises bookbinding in all its 
branches. Lund Washington, postmaster of_the cit}', brother of the 
President, advertises the Washington letters uncalled for. A runaway 
negro is advertised at a reward of $8, rather cheap for a human being 
held in absolute fee simple. Rude woodcuts, depicting a negro running, 
with stick and bundle, abound. The sheriff of Prince George County 
advertises frequently runaway slaves in custody, who will be sold to pay 
charges unless their owners take them away. The editor records the 
finishing of 20 houses, begun by Robert Morris and J. Nicholson, which 
those gentlemen celebrated by treating a few acquaintances, the archi- 
tect and workmen, some 200 in number, to a barbecue on the spot. 
' ' We do not recollect- ever to have seen a greater appearance of social 
glee on a similar occasion." These houses stood on South Capitol 
street, corner of G street. Blodget's Hotel and his lotteries were the 
butt of many gibes. "We understand that Mr. Blodget draws 100 
tickets per week; now, as the wheel contains 50,000 tickets, the lottery 
will be drawing ten years. We, therefore, advise all holding tickets to 
mention them in their wills, as they may become important possessions 
for the good of their heirs." Again: "Wanted. — A number of patient 
sportsmen to purchase the unsold tickets in Washington Lottery, No. 2. 
Gentlemen of fortune would be preferred." And again: "At Phila- 
delphia the tickets in Blodget's lottery are held at $1, at par; but at 
Georgetown, where information is better, they may be got at under 
par, and on a long credit." This notable "Washington Lottery, No. 
2," was first schemed in December, 1794, and the criticisms here cited 
appeared in 1796. The lottery prospectus was headed: " For improve- 
ment of the national capital," and read: "It is hoped that the friends 
to a national university and the other national objects may continue to 
favor the design. ' ' 

CITY OF WASHINGTON. 

The Gazette printed, June 25, 1796, a proclamation by President 
Washington, setting forth that the requirement of building all houses in 
Washington of brick or stone, and not less than 35 feet in height, had 
impeded the settlement of the city by mechanics and others, and would 
therefore be suspended until A. D. 1800. The Commissioners of the 
District made frequent advertisements of public auction sales of Wash- 
ton lots, at one-third cash, and one and two years' credit for the remain- 
der; sales to be continued until they had raised a sum sufficient to 
complete the public buildings. 

The paper contained many advertisements of hotels. The Capitol 
Hill tavern announced — "A shuffle-board and niuepin alley are ready 
for those inclined to amuse themselves." William Tunnecliff, whose 
tavern was located on Capitol Hill, in square 925, corner of Pennsylvania 



Founding of the National Capital. 235 

avenue southeast and Ninth street, announced "stabling for horses, 
and lodging for gentlemen or ladies," at his Eastern Branch hotel. 

The fust dramatic performances in Washington of which I find record 
were held in 1S01, in Blodget's unfinished hotel, near the site of the 
former Post-Office Department, Seventh and F streets. Rough boards 
were put in as temporary seats for the audience at the play. 

In 1805 there were 700 houses and three market houses in Wash- 
ington; while in 1800, five years earlier, there were only 47 brick and 
119 frame houses completed in the city, after eight years' possession by 
the Government. 

One of the most notable characters in the life and history of early 
Washington was Thomas Law. He was of a distinguished English 
family, being a son of the Bishop of Carlisle, and one of his brothers 
being Edward Law, Lord Ellenborough, who became Lord Chief Justice 
of England. Thomas Law went early in life to India, where he amassed 
a large fortune, and, being a liberal in politics, he came to America to 
spend it. This he succeeded in doing in the embryo Washington, where 
he invested most of his estate, buying some 500 lots, and building a 
block of houses near Greenleaf's Point, in southwest Washington, which 
are still standing. He also built the three large mansions in one block 
at New Jersey avenue and C street southeast, so long occupied by the 
Coast Survey, and which is now the Hotel Varnum. He married the 
beautiful Miss Elizabeth Parke Custis, a granddaughter of Mrs. Martha 
Washington, but separated from her after some years of married life. 
The late Dr. Brodhead, who was his neighbor for many years, told me 
that Mr. Law had a very slow, imperturbable utterance. One morning, 
while sitting at breakfast, his negro waiter announced to him — " Massa 
Thomas, Missus Law died last night." " The-hell-she-did? — pass-the- 
po-ta-toes, ' ' was his only reply. 

The English traveler, Thomas Twining, who had been, like Mr. Law, 
an East India resident, visited him at Washington in 1796, and remarked 
upon the seclusion in which he had chosen to bury his distinguished 
talents. "I could not but be surprised," said he, "at the plan of life 
he had chosen. The clearing of ground and building of small houses 
amongst the woods of the Potomac ' ' seemed to him a most uncongenial 
occupation for such a man as Law. 

The Duke de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt stayed with Law during his 
visit to "Federal City," and, says he, "I could not felicitate Mr. Law 
on the speculation which induced him to purchase lots in the new city, 
and thought he might have made a more prudent and fortunate use of 
his great property. " " His fortune, ' ' he adds, ' ' is superior to the great- 
est fortunes in America, and he might have lived on his own revenues 
with splendor. He has willfully plunged himself into an abyss of cares, 
and all the contentions of this distracted city, which not only prevent 
the enjoyment of his fortune, but even endanger it." 



236 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Mr. Law was an eccentric specimen of the wealth}' Indian nabob, who 
appeared to others marvelously out of place in the crude wilderness of 
Washington. His leading qualities were obstinacy and independence. 
The more money he sunk in building fine residences in places where 
nobod}' wanted to reside, the more he resolved to have his own way. 
His losses in real estate were enormous, but he lived luxuriously, enter- 
taining Englishmen and other foreigners with profuse hospitality. We 
read of his driving his chariot and four horses from Baltimore to Wash-~ 
ington, with his wife, in 1796. George Washington and his secretary, 
Tobias Lear, stayed at Law's house on frequent visits to the Federal City. 

Law was one of the chief promoters of the canal lottery, a scheme 
which must not be confounded with the Washington lotteries of Samuel 
Blodget. A charter was granted by Maryland in 1795, with Daniel Car- 
roll, Thomas Law, and others as corporators, to build a canal from above 
Great Falls through Washington City to the Eastern Branch. Into this ' 
Mr. Law put much money and time. Procuring from Congress an ena- 
bling act authorizing the lottery in 1812, the Washington Canal Com- 
pany widely advertised the scheme as a "National lottery," and sold 
many tickets in Virginia, Maryland, and elsewhere. 

Mr. Law died July 31, 1834, aged 75 years, at his mansion on Capitol 
Hill. The National Intelligencer styled him ' ' one of the oldest, most 
zealous, and enlightened citizens," and said that he had passed an old 
age clouded by disease and domestic calamity (for all his children had 
died before him), but "indulging with delight in such hospitality as his 
narrowed means permitted him to exercise, for his many investments 
proved anything but lucrative." He wrote at least twelve pamphlets, 
printed anonymously, chiefly on finance and sound banking. His work, 
"Thoughts on Instinctive Impulses," however, is an ethical and poetical 
treatise displaying a wide range of speculative thought. • 

DESCRIPTIONS BY EARLY TRAVELERS. 

Richard Parkinson, whose tour in America in 1798 to 1800 appeared 
in two volumes, said that Washington contained only 300 houses, and 
he concluded that it was too young a city for a brewery, which he had 
thought to establish. Thomas Law he found the only man of any con- 
siderable mouied property in the city. He met General Washington at 
Mr. Law's, who was "quite sociable," though he adds, "the General 
went to bed at 9 o'clock, as that was his hour." 

John Davis, the English schoolmaster who first told the unfounded 
tale of Jefferson's riding alone to the Capitol to be inaugurated as 
President, and hitching his horse to the palisades, wrote of Washington 
in 1 802, what may well be believed: "There were no objects to catch 
the eye but a forlorn pilgrim forcing his way through the grass that 
overruns the streets, or a cow ruminating on a bank." He says the 
village was surrounded by "endless and almost impenetrable woods," 



Founding of the National Capital. 237 

and drops into poetry upon "the noble river Potomac, on whose banks 
the proud structures of Washington are to lift their heads." 

Francis Baily, president of the Royal Astronomical Society of London, 
visited here in 1796. He arrived by stage from Baltimore, for which 
journey $4 was the fare, and the road was well furnished with good 
taverns. Georgetown he describes as " a handsome town which will in 
time lose its name of Georgetown, and adopt the general one of Wash- 
ington" — a prediction which is now fulfilled. He visited Alexandria, 
fare 75 cents by stage. He praises the view from the Capitol as 
"extremely delightful," visits Greeuleaf's Point, where 20 or 30 houses 
were built, and says about 100 others were scattered over in other places. 
Most of the streets were cut through the woods* appearing like broad 
avenues in a park. " In short," says he, "all tends to render it one of 
the most delightful and pleasant sites for a town I have ever remarked. ' ' 

In the Travels of the Duke de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, who spent 
the years 1795 to 1797 in the United States, and who was a careful 
observer, is the most extended account of this District and its vicinity in 
Maryland and Virginia at the period of our review, to be met with. He 
pronounces the plan of the city "both judicious and noble;" but adds 
that it is in fact the grandeur and magnificence of the plan which renders 
the conception "no better than a dream." He details at length the 
speculation in lots, then at its height, in what he always terms ' ' Federal 
City; " shows that Robert Morris, with Nicholson and Greenleaf, bought 
up all that could be had, either from the Commissioners or from private 
owners; that the Morris syndicate (to use a term not then invented) 
purchased 6,000 lots at $80 each from the Commissioners, and nearly as 
many more from individuals, the whole purchase being nearly $1 ,000, 000; 
that the bargain was made in 1793, on seven years' time, one-seventh to 
be paid annually; that they were bound to erect 120 brick houses of two 
stories, within the seven years, but were not to sell any lots before 1796, 
without a like condition of building on them. This was a stipulation 
designed, on the part of the Commissioners, to improve the city rapidly 
by settlement, but it proved ineffective. 

Thomas Law bought from Morris 445 lots, paying nearly $300 a lot. 
Many others bought, but mostly on speculation, for the land fever ran 
high. The building of the Capitol and the President's palace, so-called; 
excited the hope of a great influx of population. The public prints of 
Virginia, Baltimore, etc. , were filled with exaggerated praises of the new 
city. The President and the Commissioners believed that the ground 
marked out for the city would soon be filled up, and this led them to 
enforce a regulation prohibiting houses of wood, or of less than two 
stories in height. 

Samuel Blodget, who had bought a large quantity of lots, devised an 
ingenious scheme of disposing of them by lottery. The great prize was 
a handsome $50,000 tavern, yet to be built (for the whole speculation 



23S Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

was in the air) ; the next prizes were three houses to be erected near the 
Capitol, valued at $25,000, $15,000, and $10,000, respectively. The 
Duke de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt adds that these lotteries gained a 
large profit to Mr. Blodget, who, he says, ' ' was the only person not 
deceived in the transaction." 

Messrs. Morris & Co. were not very successful in getting their exten- 
sive lot purchases off their hands. People, after admiring the plan of 
the Federal City in embryo for its beauty and magnificence, began to 
perceive that it was rather extensive for the actual circumstances of the 
United States; and that the immense extent of ground would not be so 
speedily covered with handsome houses, as was expected. Even- lot 
holder intrigued to get his neighborhood first improved; hence rivalries 
and antagonisms became the order of the da5 r . Georgetown owners of 
lots declared their property the most eligible, because situated near the 
principal existing settlement, and boasted of the port of Georgetown and 
its well-founded commerce, while Washington was a forest and swamp 
without a harbor. On the other hand, Greenleaf 's Point lot owners sang 
the praises of that situation as the most airy, healthful, and beautiful in 
the city. Then came the Eastern Branch proprietors, who decried both 
the Point and Georgetown, and claimed their location as the best, because 
nearest to the Capitol and most likely to be settled by the Members of 
Congress, when that body should remove here in 1800. Then, in the 
fourth place, came Capitol Hill speculators in lots, who depreciated all 
other locations but their own, as too remote from the political center 
where Congress was to hold its daily sessions. 

Our traveler records about 150 houses as scattered over the vast sur- 
face of the city, each of the four contending quarters having 30 or 40, at 
great distances from each other. He said few lots had been sold to indi- 
viduals to be improved, though in 1796 40 houses had been begun by 
the Morris syndicate, who had pledged their property in advance, and 
had no money to complete their extensive undertakings. Not a single 
house had been built as yet, in 1796, on Pennsylvania avenue between 
the President's house and the Capitol. 

After recording that the commerce of Georgetown had declined from 
about $400,000 imports and exports in 1791 to $189,000 in 1796, a 
decline he attributes to the diminished production of tobacco and the 
absorption of the merchants in lot speculations, the Duke concludes his 
somber picture of the prospects of Washington by saying that it was idle 
to imagine that it would arrive at the execution of the tenth part of its 
plan before a dissolution of the Union should take place. ' ' Federal City, ' ' 
he says, ' ' will never reach that degree of improvement to render it even 
a tolerable abode for the kind of persons for whom it was designed. ' ' 
We, who smile over the signal falsification of this dire prediction, should 
allow that our infant capital, cradled in a wilderness of woods a century 
ago, offered little enough to countervail the forebodings of failure. 



Founding of the National Capital. 239 

Robert Sutcliff, an intelligent English Quaker, visited Washington in 
1804, and wrote: "The situation is one of the most eligible spots for a 
city that I have ever seen; it bids fair to be one of the most elegant and 
regularly built cities in the world." Visiting a family in Alexandria, 
where 100 slaves were employed (at least ostensibly), he remarked that 
the more slaves there were kept about a plantation, the more disorder 
appeared. He passed through Piscataway to Port Tobacco, in Maryland 
and found the people mostly black, and the sandy road tracked with feet 
immoderately large, which he attributed to the slaves going always bare- 
foot. On Sunday he met fair white girls riding to church on horseback 
with a negro boy mounted behind and jumping off to open gates while 
the horse trotted on, and the boy, nimbly running after his mistress 
jumped up again behind her. At Alexandria he saw negro girls 10 or 
12 years of age walking the streets with baskets of fruit and vegetables 
on their heads, without any clothing whatever. 

Another traveler, who came to Washington in 1796, was Thomas 
Twining. He wished to go from his tavern in Georgetown to his friend 
Thomas Law's residence at Greenleaf 's Point, but could get no convey- 
ance for a whole day. At last a horse was found, and he proceeded in 
the saddle through what he terms "a silent wilderness," or a thick 
wood pierced with avenues, toward the south. He remarks of the 
Americans that they are far more ready in speech than Englishmen, and 
that they speak the English language with all the volubility of French- 
men. This characteristic has not apparently failed them in the century 
since he wrote. 

A Swiss, named Charles Pictet, whose two volumes on the United 
States appeared in 1795, "Tableaux des Etats-Unis d'Amerique " 
describes Washington as a city laid out on a plan proportioned to the 
majesty of the enterprise, and which ' ' will secure to the capital of America 
advantages which no city before it will have possessed. ' ' 

Charles W. Janson was in Washington in 1806, and he gave a graphic 
and far from cheerful account of its aspect, headed "Failure of the city 
of Washington. ' ' He wrote : 

The entrance, or avenues, as they are pompously called, which lead to the Amer- 
ican seat of government, are the worst roads I passed in the country, particularly 
the mail-stage road from Bladensburg to Washington, and from thence to Alexan- 
dria. Deep ruts, rocks, and stumps of trees every minute impede your progress 
and threaten your limbs with dislocation. Speculation, the life of the American' 
embraces the design of the new city. Several companies purchased lots and be-an 
to build, with an ardor that soon promised a large and populous city Before they 
arrived at the attic story, the failure was manifest; and in that state are the walls of 
many houses begun on a plan of elegance. The President's house, the offices of I 
state, and a little theater, where an itinerant company repeated the lines of Shakes- 
peare, Otway, and Dryden to empty benches, terminate the view of the Pennsyl- 
vania, or Grand, avenue. This is the largest avenue; in fact, I never heard of more 
than that and the New Jersey avenue. Except some houses uniformly built with 
some public houses, and here and there a little grogshop, this boasted avenue is as 
H. Doc. 552 16 



240 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

much a wilderness as Kentucky. Some half-starved cattle browsing among the 
bushes present a melancholy spectacle to a stranger, whose expectation has been 
warmed up by the illusive descriptions of speculative writers. So very thinly is the 
city peopled, and so little is it frequented, that quails and other birds are constantly 
shot within a hundred yards of the Capitol. Strangers, after viewing the offices of 
state, are apt to inquire for the city, while they are in its very center. 

Thomas Moore, the Irish poet, who was in Washington in 1804, while 
Jefferson was President, wrote of 

This embryo capital, where fancy sees 
Squares in morasses, obelisks in trees; 
Which second-sighted seers, ev'n now, adorn 
With shrines unbuilt, and heroes yet unborn, 
Though naught but woods and Jefferson they see, 
Where streets should run and sages ought to be. 

On his way hither, the poet wrote from Baltimore: 

I have passed the Potomac, the Rappahannock, the Occoquan, the Patapsio 
(meaning the Patapsco) and many other rivers, with names as barbarous as the 
inhabitants. The mail takes 12 passengers, which generally consist of squalling 
children, stinking negroes, and Republicans smoking cigars. 

He speaks of Blodget's famous lottery hotel thus: 

The hotel is already a ruin; a great part of its roof has fallen in, and the rooms 
are left to be occupied gratuitously by the miserable Scotch and Irish emigrants. 
The few ranges of houses which were begun some years ago have remained so long 
waste and unfinished that they are now for the most part dilapidated. 

Gouverneur Morris, who attended Jefferson's inauguration in 1801, 
records that the road from Washington to Annapolis was so deep in mud 
that the stage was stalled and stuck fast. It took him ten hours to go 
the 25 miles. Of Washington he wrote: "We only need here houses, 
cellars, kitchens, scholarly men, amiable women, and a few other such 
trifles, to possess a perfect city. In a word, this is the best city in the 
world to live in — in the future. ' ' Perhaps the present citizens of Wash- 
ington will agree with him. 

In 1800, John Cotton Smith, a Connecticut member of Congress, on 
his way to attend its first session, November 17, 1800, in the new cit3^, 
recorded that he dined at Baltimore on canvas-back ducks, which he 
pronounced a dish of unequaled and exquisite flavor. He found one 
wing of the Capitol only erected, which, with the President's house, 
"both constructed with white sandstone, were shining objects in dismal 
contrast with the scene around them." Not an avenue was visible save 
one which he calls " a road with two buildings on each side of it, called 
the New Jersey avenue." Pennsylvania avenue was nothing but "a 
deep morass covered with alder bushes. ' ' He says there appeared to be 
but two really comfortable habitations in the city, those of Daniel Carroll 
(whom he calls Dudley Carroll) and of Notley Young. In spite of the 
unfavorable aspect presented by the city, this Yankee congressman 
expresses his admiration for its local position. He extols the view of 
the majestic river, "the cultivated fields and blue hills of Maryland and 



Founding of the National Capital. 241 

Virginia, the whole constituting a prospect of surprising beauty and 
grandeur. ' ' 

When Baron von Humboldt returned from his scientific expedition in 
Central and South America, in 1804, he visited Washington, and was 
taken to Capitol Hill to enjoy the prospect. After a careful survey of 
the surrounding scenery, he said to his companions: "Gentlemen, I 
have never seen a more beautiful near panorama in all my travels. ' ' This 
was told me by the late William W. Corcoran, who died in 1888, at the 
age of 90. 

The oft-told story of the location of the National Capital at Washing- 
ton is too familiar, in its main outlines, to justify repetition here. It 
enters into every book about our city, and was made the subject of a 
separate publication, "The Founding of Washington City," forming 
No. 17 of the Maryland Historical Society's Fund Publications, prepared 
by the present writer. I shall here brief a mere outline of the salient 
facts, with some allusions which are less generally known. 

When the first Congress under the Constitution met at New York in 
1789, that body was embarrassed by the claims of many cities and the 
offers of various States to provide a permanent seat of government. 
Trenton, Philadelphia, Carlisle, Germantown, Lancaster, York, Harris- 
burg, Reading, Wilmington, and Baltimore all were eager to receive the 
new Government with open arms. The debates in the House of Repre- 
sentatives (for none of those in the Senate are reported) were long and 
sometimes acrimonious. Suffice it to say that after many locations had 
been successively defeated (Germantown, Pa., having been once selected 
but reconsidered), the site on the Potomac was carried July 9, 1790, by a 
majority of only 2 votes in the Senate and 3 votes in the House. Those 
votes, moreover, could not have been obtained had North Carolina not 
came into the Union before the decision, casting her vote for the southern 
location. 

The prolonged struggle over a question which excited so many pas- 
sions, interests, and prejudices, attests at once, in its settlement, the 
wisdom and moderation of our fathers, and the prodigious power of com- 
promise in human affairs. Philadelphia was placated by receiving the 
boon of the temporary seat of government from 1791 to 1800. Other 
Northern votes were secured by pledging enough Southern votes for the 
national assumption of State debts to carry that favorite measure of the 
creditor States. As nearly all legislation is the fruit of compromise in 
some form, as the earliest American Confederation in 1778 was a compro- 
mise, so was the founding hereof the National Capital a compromise, and 
the adoption of the Constitution of the United States was the greatest 
compromise of all. 

It is a noteworthy fact that this act of Congress for establishing a per- 
manent seat of government, adopted after so long and serious a division of 
opinion, fixed absolutely no definite place for the site of the Capital City. 



242 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

It gave the President of the United States the sole power to select any 
site on the River Potomac, between the mouth of the Eastern Branch (or 
Anacostia) and the mouth of the Conococheague, or about 7 miles from 
Hagerstown, Md. , which is over 100 miles, following the windings of the 
river, from the present capital. It was in the power of Washington, 
under the provisions of this act, to have founded the National Capital at 
Harpers Ferry, 50 miles west of Baltimore, instead of at a place 40 miles 
south of it. Indeed, a contemporary letter of Oliver Wolcott says: " In 
1800 we go to the Indian place with the long name (meaning Conoco- 
cheague) on the Potomac." 

Washington, however, with that consummate judgment which distin- 
guished his character, selected the only spot in the limits prescribed by 
Congress which united the advantages of tidewater navigation to the sea, 
easy access from Baltimore and other cities, and the finest natural sites 
both for public buildings and the future wants of a thronging population. 
The ' ' magnificent distances, ' ' which were long the theme of almost 
world-wide ridicule, have been discovered to be none too spacious since 
the city has grown from a straggling village into a well-built and finely 
paved emporium for nearly 300,000 inhabitants. While the measure- 
ments of the city proper exhibit a total of 6,111 acres, no fewer than 
3,095 acres of this aggegate are in streets, avenues, and public reserva- 
tions, which leaves about half the surface of the city to private residences 
and their grounds. It results that there is a far greater proportion of 
open ground reserved from buildings in Washington than in any other 
large city, and this secures most important sanitary advantages to its 
inhabitants. 

This is no place for any description of a capital so often described. But 
it is a notable fact in its history that the felicity of the site, with the 
rival pretensions of other cities, should have forestalled any removal of 
the capital at times when that chronic discontent which sways the 
temper of men and of nations, broke out against the established seat of 
government. These criticisms give an amusing and sometimes grotesque 
coloring to the letters and journals of some early members of Congress 
and ambassadors from foreign nations in the earlier decades of our cen- 
tury. But these and later discontents have been allayed, we may hope 
permanently, by the extraordinary natural advantages of the site grow- 
ing more and more evident every year, and by the magnificent civic 
progress of the last quarter of a century, during which Washington has 
been advanced to the first rank among cities in public buildings, 
parks, museums, libraries, thoroughfares, cleanliness, private residences, 
and all the arts of life. 



REMOVAL OF THE GOVERNMENT TO THE 
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA IN 1800.' 



By AinsworTh R. Spofford, LL. D. , 
On behalf of the Committee of the Columbia Historical Society. 



The committee appointed in pursuance of a vote of the society, 
November 6, 1899, to consider and report upon the historic facts con- 
nected with the removal to the District of Columbia of the permanent 
seat of government of the United States, respectfully submit the following 
as their unanimous report: 

The duty with which we were charged required a careful and system- 
atic examination of the legal and documentary evidence bearing upon 
the subject, including acts of Congress, executive orders and proclama- 
tions, departmental records, and contemporary letters and journals. In 
the entire absence of any comprehensive history of the various steps 
connected with the initial organization of the Government in this Dis- 
trict, we have been much aided by the researches as to portions of the 
inquiry contributed by members of this society to its archives, and espe- 
cially those of Dr. S. C. Busey and Messrs. W. B. Bryan and H. T. 
Taggart. Thanks are also due to President Kasson and to Mr. Osborne 
for important facts concerning early executive and judicial records 
collected by them. 

.The briefest possible summary of the legislation which established 
this District as the permanent seat of the Government will preface the 
history of the actual removal, in the year 1800. 

The Continental Congress, from 1774 to 1778, and its successor, the 
Congress of the Confederation, from 1778 to 1789, had been a movable 
body. It assembled successively at eight places, in four different States, 
viz: Philadelphia, Baltimore, Lancaster, York, Princeton, Annapolis, 
Trenton, and New York. Though its sessions during nearly one-half 
of this period of fifteen years were held at Philadelphia (then the largest 
city in the country), Congress forsook it in 1783 for Princeton, N. J., 
mainly because of a rude disturbance of its proceedings by a mob of sol- 
diers, which had not been promptly quelled. This incident undoubtedly 

■Senate Document No. 12, Fifty -sixth Congress, first session. 

243 



244 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

contributed much to the later hostility of that body to fixing the capital 
in or near any large city. 

The convention which framed the Constitution in 1787 was exercised 
by the question of a proper seat of government. George Mason pro- 
posed to provide in that fundamental law against fixing it at any State 
capital. James Madison held that a central residence for the Govern- 
ment was a necessity. On his motion there was added to the enumerated 
powers of Congress this one: 

To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such district ( not 
exceeding ten miles square) as ma}' by cession of particular States and the accept- 
ance of Congress become the seat of government of the United States. (Art. 1, 
sec. 7. ) 

The first Congress under the Constitution had few more difficult prob- 
lems to settle than that of a permanent capital for what Washington 
termed, in his first address to Congress, an "infant nation." It met in 
New York in elegant accommodations, free of rent; but the claims of 
other places and various offers of States poured in. Maryland and Vir- 
ginia each offered 10 miles square in any part of their territory which 
Congress might choose. Protracted and sometimes acrimonious debates 
ensued. The chief controversy was over the conflicting claims of sites 
on the Delaware, the Potomac, and the Susquehanna. The Eastern 
States were solid for the more northerly site, while the South was nearly 
equally solid for the Potomac. 

Once both Houses of Congress had actually voted to locate the capital 
at Germantown, then 6 miles from Philadelphia, but it was reconsidered. 
Wilmington, Harrisburg, and Baltimore were all voted upon and all 
rejected. The Potomac was denounced by New England members as- an 
unhealthy wilderness, and it was declared that members would forego 
their election rather than go to a Congress on its banks. Numbers of 
Eastern adventurers had gone to the Southern States, and all had found 
their graves there. Mr. Madison declared the banks of the Susquehanna 
more unhealthy than those of the Potomac. Fisher Ames said that the 
gentleman from Virginia ' ' seemed to think the banks of the Potomac a 
paradise and that river an Euphrates. ' ' 

A Georgia member said that if the North insisted on the Susquehanna, 
it would ' ' blow the coals of sedition and endanger the Union. ' ' 

A Connecticut member said, for himself, " he did not dare to go to the 
Potomac; he feared that the whole of New England would consider 
the Union destroyed." (Annals of Congress, v. d. ) 

But out of this nettle, danger, the flower of safety was plucked at last 
by a compromise. Pennsylvania was placated by giving her the seat of 
government for ten years, up to 1800. Enough Southern votes against 
the bill for the assumption of the State debts by the United States were 
changed to carry that favorite measure of the Eastern States into law; 
and so the site of the Potomac was agreed to by a majority of 3 votes in 
the House and 2 votes in the Senate. 



Removal of the Government in 1800. 245 

The ' ' act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the 
Government of the United States ' ' was approved by President Washing- 
ton July 16, 1790. So much of it as bears most closely upon our inquiry 
reads as follows: 

Section i. Be it enacted, That a district of territory, not exceeding ten miles 
■^ square , to be located as hereafter directed on the river Potomac, at some place 
between the mouths of the Eastern Branch and Connogochegue, be, and the same is 
hereby, accepted for the permanent seat of government of the United States. 

SEC. 2. That the President of the United States be authorized to appoint three 
commissioners, who shall, under the direction of the President, survey and, by proper 
metes and bounds, define and limit a district of territory, under the limitations above 
mentioned ; and the district so defined, limited, and located shall be deemed the 
district accepted by this act for the permanent seat of the Government of the United 
States. 

SEC. 3. That the said commissioners shall have the power to purchase or accept 
such quantity of land on the eastern side of the said river within the said district as 
the President shall deem proper for the use of the United States ; and according to 
such plans as the President shall approve the said commissioners shall, prior to the 
first Monday in December, in the year one thousand eight hundred, provide suitable 
buildings for the accommodation of Congress and of the President and for the public 
offices of the Government of the United States. 

SEC 4. That for defraying the expenses of such purchases and buildings the Presi- 
dent of the United States be authorized and requested to accept grants of money. 

Sec. 5. That prior to the first Monday in December next all offices attached to 
the seat of the Government of the United States shall be removed to, and until the 
said first Monday in December, in the year one thousand eight hundred, shall remain 
at the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, at which place the session 
of Congress next ensuing the present shall be held. 

Sec. 6. That on the said first Monday in December, in the year one thousand 
eight hundred, the seat of the Government of the United States shall, by virtue of 
this act, be transferred to the district and place aforesaid ; and all offices attached to 
the said seat of Government shall accordingly be removed thereto by their respec- 
tive holders, and shall, after the said day, cease to be exercised elsewhere ; and that 
the necessary expense of such removal shall be defrayed out of the duties on imports 
and tonnage, of which a sufficient sum is hereby appropriated. ( I U. S. Stat. U., 
130-) 

This act, it will be observed, left a wide liberty of choice to the Presi- 
dent of any site within about a hundred miles above the confluence of 
the Eastern Branch and the Potomac. But an amendment passed by 
Congress the next year, and approved March 3, 1791 (1 U. S. Stat. L. , 
214), repealed the limitation of the 10 miles square which required it to 
be located above the mouth of the Eastern Branch, and authorized the 
President to include the town of Alexandria and adjacent lands lying 
below that branch as well as above on both sides of the Potomac. 

Previous action by President Washington had been taken by the 
appointment of three commissioners, Messrs. Johnson, Stuart, and Car- 
roll, on January 22, 1791, under the act of 1790, and by a proclamation 
January 24, 1791, directing them to proceed forthwith to ruu "lines of 
experiment," beginning on Hunting Creek, Virginia, running due north- 
west 10 miles; thence due northeast 10 miles, crossing the Potomac into 



246 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Maryland; thence due southeast 10 miles, and thence southwest 10 miles 
to the place of beginning. (1 Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 
100. ) This location, not in terms provided for in the first act, appears to 
have been made with a view to secure amendator}' legislation, and per- 
haps to make his "lines of experiment" satisfactory alike to Congress, 
to Maryland, and to Virginia, in view of the sum of $120,000 voted by 
the Virginia legislature as a free gift toward the public buildings in case 
of acceptance by Congress of her act of cession of December 3, 1789. 

Maryland also gave the sum of $72,000 outright for the public build- 
ings, besides ceding the land for the Federal district, December 23, 1788, 
and afterwards, by three successive acts, in 1796, 1797, and 1799, loaned 
the large sum of $250,000 for the same object on the personal security of 
the commissioners added to that of the Government, the amendatory act 
having repeated the stipulation that the Government buildings should 
be erected on the Maryland side of the river. 

The corner stone of the District of Columbia was laid on the Virginia 
side April 15, 1791, with Masonic ceremonies. 

March 29, 1791, Washington met the chief landholders in the District 
at Georgetown, who agreed by deed, attested March 30, to convey to the 
President and commissioners all their lands in fee simple, retaining an 
undivided half interest in the lots that might be sold, giving outright all 
spaces occupied by streets and avenues, and receiving £25 Colonial (about 
$66.67) P er acre f° r a H taken for public buildings or improvements. 

March 30, 1791, the President issued a proclamation, defining finally 
the metes and bounds of the District of Columbia (1 Messages and 
Papers of the Presidents, 102), and on April 3 he wrote to the commis- 
sioners, styling the embryo capital "the Federal City," a designation 
which Washington continued to use through life. The commissioners, 
however, on September 9, 1791, in a letter to 1/ Enfant, determined to 
call it "the City of Washington," that honored name which it has ever 
since borne; and they gave the District the title of the "Territory of 
Columbia. ' ' 

The actual survey of the District embraced in the 10 miles square was 
begun in February, 1791, by Maj. Andrew Ellicott, an accomplished 
surveyor and engineer, who was directed by the Secretary of State, 
Jefferson, February 13, 1791, to proceed to "the Federal territory on 
the Potomac" for that purpose. In the following month, March, 1791, 
Maj. Pierre Charles L' Enfant, a French engineer who had served with 
credit in the Revolutionary war, was chosen by Washington and Jeffer- 
son to aid in the extensive work of laying out the city that was to 
be. D'Enfant, with an instinctive genius which has made the plan 
of Washington City his lasting monument, drew the map and accom- 
panying inscriptions, which the President submitted to Congress with a 
special message December 13, 1791. (1 Messages and Papers of the 
Presidents, 113.) 

The creation of the capital of the United States was the first instance 



Removal of the Government in 1800. 247 

in history of a nation's founding a seat of government on new ground 
by legislative act. And the city was planned on a scale of amplitude, 
and with a marvelous foresight, which does immortal honor to its chief 
projectors— Washington, Jefferson, L' Enfant, and Ellicott. These broad 
streets, magnificent avenues;' noble vistasr"and ample reservations, by 
which one-half of the city area is forever secured from being built upon, 
attest the broad-minded sagacity of its founders. The national capital, 
cradled in the wilderness a hundred years ago, finds its "magnificent 
distances," once the theme of thoughtless ridicule, none too ample for 
a thronging population in an age when distance is almost annihilated. 
Coming now to the recital of the removal of the Government to its 
new and chosen capital, we find the Congress at Philadelphia providing 
therefor by an act approved April . 24, 1800 (1 U. S. Stat. D., 214), 
amendatory of that of July 16, 1790, and authorizing the President to 
anticipate the time of removal, fixed by that law as the first Monday in 
December, 1800. President Adams had previously reminded Congress, 
in his annual address December 3, 1799, that the Government was 
required on the first Monday of December next to be transferred from 
Philadelphia to the district chosen for its permanent seat, and that the 
commissioners had reported the public buildings advanced so that the 
removal would be practicable and the accommodations satisfactory. 
(Annals of Congress, Sixth Congress, 190.) 

On the 13th of May, 1800, Congress provided by law that its next 
regular session should be held on the third Monday of November, 1800, 
at the city of Washington, instead of the first Monday in December, the 
constitutional date for its assembling in the absence of a special enact- 
ment. (2 U. S. Stat. D, 85.) The next day, May 14, that body 
adjourned, and President Adams, on the day following, May 15, 1800, 
issued the following order in pursuance of the act of April 24: 

The President requests the several heads of departments to take the most prudent 
and economical arrangements for the removal of the public offices, clerks, and papers, 
according to their own best judgment, as soon as may be convenient, in such man- 
ner that the public offices may be opened in the City of Washington for the dispatch 
of business by the 15th of June. (2 Gibbs's Memoirs of the Administrations of 
Washington and Adams, 362. ) ' 

The fact that the 15 th of June fell on Sunday in 1800 either did not 
occur to the President, or was deemed unimportant in allowing just a 
calendar mouth for completing the transit of the executive officers and 
effects from Philadelphia to Washington. 

President Adams himself left Philadelphia May 27, 1800, traveling by 
way of Lancaster, Pa., and Fredericktown, Md., a circuitous route, but 
affording opportunities of entertainment by the way. 

He did not reach Georgetown until June 3, one week later, although 
the daily stage via Baltimore, leaving Philadelphia at 8 a. m., then 

1 This important Executive order is not filed in the Department of State, nor has 
it been found in any contemporary publication. 



248 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

arrived at Washington the next day at 5 p. m. The Centinel of Liberty, 
or Georgetown and Washington Advertiser, of June 6. 1800, had this 
paragraph: 

The President of the United States arrived in this place on Tuesday last. At the 
boundary line of the District of Columbia he was met by a large crowd of respectable 
citizens on horseback and escorted into town, where he was received with pleasure 
and veneration. The military of the City of Washington and the marines stationed 
there manifested their respect by sixteen discharges of musketry and artillery. 

There were at that time but sixteen States in the Union. 

The same journal records a meeting of the citizens of Georgetown 
May 31, which appointed a committee to address the President by letter 
of welcome. In his reply, dated "Union Tavern, Georgetown, June 4, 
1800," Mr. Adams wrote: 

I congratulate you, gentlemen, on the translation of the Government to the city 
so near you. 

On Thursday, June 5, we find the scene of the Presidential reception 
transferred to Washington, where an address was presented to President 
Adams in the chamber of the House of Representatives at the Capitol 
by Mr. Tristram Dalton in behalf of the citizens. 

Mr. Adams replied : 

I congratulate you on the blessings which Providence has been pleased to bestow 
in a particular manner on this situation, and especially on its destination to be the 
permanent seat of Government. 

On the nth of June the President was given an entertainment at 
Alexandria, at which upward of a hundred citizens were present. 

President Adams left Washington on Saturday, June 14, and pro- 
ceeded on his way to Massachusetts, having spent nearly two weeks in 
the District. 

The removal of the various Department offices, their clerks, archives, 
etc., to the new Capital was promply entered upon. Search of contem- 
porary newspapers shows that the heads of the Departments left Phila- 
delphia for Washington at the following dates : 

Charles I,ee, Attorney-General and Acting Secretary of State, May 28, 
1800. Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, arrived Jury 2, 1800. 
Samuel Dexter, Secretary of War, arrived June 12, 1800. Benjamin 
Stoddert, Secretary of the Navy, left Philadelphia June n. Abraham 
Bradley, jr., acting for Postmaster-General Habersham (absent in 
Georgia), left Philadelphia May 27 and arrived here May 29. John 
Marshall, Secretary of State, arrived June 6, 1800. 

The clerks employed in the various Departments (about 136 in num- 
ber) came over from Philadelphia at various dates by stage or hired con- 
veyances. They were allowed all expenses out of the appropriation for 
removal of the Government offices and archives, and about $64,000 were 
thus paid out of the Treasury for the entire pecuniary charges of remov- 
ing a Government from its temporary capital to its permanent one. The 



Removal of the Government in 1800. 249 

Department records, office furniture, etc. , were nearly all shipped around 
by Delaware and Chesapeake bays and the Potomac by sailing vessels, 
constituting no small bulk, and the myth of "a single packet sloop,'' 
. which magazine writers have reported as having transferred all the 
archives of the United States to this city, has no foundation in fact. 

The Washington that received the Executive emigrants was imper- 
fectly provided with accommodations for them. Only one Department 
building was erected, the old Treasury edifice, on the site of the present 
south front of that Department, a plain two-story brick of only thirty 
rooms. The War Department went into lodgings (a practice of which 
the present day shows many survivals) on Pennsylvania avenue above 
Twenty-first street, and the Post-Office Department was opened in a leased 
house near Blodget's Hotel, at the corner of Eighth and E streets. 

So far as the records of the Departments now show, the first official 
paper dated at Washington was a note from J. Wagner, chief clerk of 
the Department of State, to Evan Jones, dated "7th June, 1800, Depart- 
ment of State, city of Washington." A week later is recorded an offi- 
cial instruction addressed by John Marshall, Secretary of State, to Mr. 
William Vans Murray, the United States minister resident to the Bata- 
vian Republic, under date of June 16, 1800. In the War Department 
the fire that occurred November 8, 1800, destroyed all the papers in the 
office of the Secretary. The Treasury Department has no records of 
letters sent or received in 1800, which were presumably destroyed in one 
of the two fires which visited that office. 

No other Department records at about the time of removal are found. 

The removal of the Department of State is thus noticed in the Phila- 
delphia Daily Aurora: 

28 May, 1800. The office of the Department of State will be removed this day 
from Philadelphia. All letters and applications are therefore to be addressed to that 
Department at the city of Washington from this date. 

On May 23, 1800, Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser said, edi- 
torially: 

The Government offices, it is expected, will be removed in all next week. 

In the Daily Aurora of June 12, 1800, appeared a notice that— 

Letters and newspapers must in the future be directed to the respective officers of 
the Government at the city of Washington. 

A similar notice in the Daily Advertiser of June 11, 1800, reads more 
fully: 

PUBUC OFFICES. 

The following public offices are removed from Philadelphia: 

Office of the Secretary of State, Secretary of War, Secretary of the Navy, and 

General Post-Office. Letters and newspapers must in future be directed to the 

respective officers at the city of Washington. 

As early as July 7, 1800, we find the Treasury advertising in a George- 
town paper (there being none continuously issued in Washington until 



250 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

the National Intelligencer began, October 31, 1800) for supplies of 500 
cords of wood, oak and hickory, for use of that Department. 

In a letter of the Secretary of the Treasury, Oliver Wolcott, to James 
McHenry, late Secretary of War, dated Washington, July 18, 1800, that 
officer says : 

General Marshall has been gone about a fortnight, but will soon return. The 
law character (meaning Attorney -General Lee) has gone to Norfolk with his lady, 
and Mr. Stoddert, Mr. Dexter, and myself govern this great nation; but how wisely, 
is not for me to determine. (2 Gibbs's Washington and Adams.) 

President Adams returned to Washington from his home at Quincy, 
Mass., on the 1st of November, 1800, and the Georgetown Centinel of 
Libert}' announced : 

He occupies the spacious building erected for the accommodation of our Chief 
Magistrate. 

Passing now from the Departments, which we have found fully opened 
here for public business by the time fixed in President Adams's Execu- 
tive order of May 15, 1800 (namely, June 15, 1800), we find Congress 
assembling in the Capitol building (the north wing only being yet com- 
pleted) on November 17, 1800, the third Monday, fixed by its own act. 

No quorum, however, appeared in either House that day; but on the 
1 8th the House of Representatives had a quorum, and the Senate on 
November 21, when a joint committee was sent to President Adams, 
notifying him that Congress was in session and ready to receive any 
communication from him. The President replied that he would address 
them the following day. On November 22, both Houses being assem- 
bled in the Senate Chamber, he read his speech (equivalent to the 
annual messages of later days), in which occurred this notable passage: 

Immediately after the adjournment of Congress at their last session in Philadel- 
phia, I gave directions, in compliance with the laws, for the removal of the public 
offices, records, and property. These directions have been executed, and the public 
officers have since resided and conducted the ordinal business of the Government 
in this place. 

I congratulate the people of the United States on the assembling of Congress at the 
permanent seat of their government, and I congratulate you, gentlemen, on the pros- 
pect of a residence not to be changed. ( Annals of Congress, Sixth Congress, p. 723. ) 

In the reply of the Senate, that body said: 

We congratulate ourselves on the convention of the Legislature at the permanent 
seat of government. ( Ibid, p. 726. ) 

President Adams replied: 

With you, I ardently hope that stability will be communicated as well to the 
Government itself as to its beautiful and commodious seat. 

Similar sentiments in different language were embodied in the address 
of the House of Representatives and in the President's reply. 

It remains to notice briefly the action of the third coordinate branch 
of the Government, the Supreme Court of the United States. 



Removal of the Government in 1800. 251 

That bodj' adjourned its February term of the year 1800 on February 
13 and assembled for the first session of the following term on the 4th of 
August, 1800. It is to be noted that this adjournment was in February, 
before the amendatory act of Congress authorizing the removal from 
Philadelphia to be anticipated and three months before the issue of 
President Adams's order fixing June 15, 1800, as the time for opening 
the executive offices in the city of Washington. The preface to its 
minutes reads as follows: 

At a Supreme Court of the United States, to be holden agreeably to law at Phila- 
delphia (the same being the seat of the National Government), on the first Monday, 
being the third day, of August, in the year of our L,ord one thousand eight hun- 
dred, etc. 

The minutes of the last session of this term conclude as follows: 

The court, having finished the business depending before them, adjourn to the 
time and place by law appointed. 

Saml. Bayard, Clerk. 

The minutes of the first session at Washington opened as follows: 

At a Supreme Court of the United States, holden at the Capitol, in the city of 
Washington (the same being the seat of the National Government), on the first 
Monday, being the 2nd day of February, A. D. 1801, and of our independence the 
twenty-fifth, etc. 

A quorum was first secured on Wednesday, February 4, 1801. 

It may be noted that the clerk's minute prefixed to the judicial record 
of the August session at Philadelphia makes the error of calling the first 
Monday in August the 3d day, whereas it was actually the fourth. 
The statement in the same minute, "at Philadelphia (the same being the 
seat of the National Government)," was the stereotyped formula always 
prefixed, and can hardly be regarded as involving any expression of the 
court. It may be that the judges, seeing that no special preparation 
had been made for them at Washington, met at Philadelphia in their 
habitual quarters for mere reasons of comfort and convenience. 

In any case, two facts stand out in distinct relief, upon a careful 
review of the historical data here set forth: 

First. All the Executive Departments of the Government of the 
United States were in full operation at the city of Washington, and not 
elsewhere, on the 16th of June, A. D. 1800, in strict pursuance of law. 

Secondly. The legislative branch of the Government was duly organ- 
ized and in full operation in the city of Washington on the 21st day of 
November, 1800. 

Your committee having been charged with no other duty than to 
inquire into and report the facts regarding the change of the seat of 
Government of the United States in the year 1800, do not deem it 
proper to indicate any opinion regarding the most appropriate date for 
celebrating the centenary of that memorable event. That is a question 
whose solution ultimately rests with the Congress of the United States. 



REMOVAL OF THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT TO 
WASHINGTON. 1 



By W. B. Bryan. 



The removal of the seat of government from Philadelphia to Washing- 
ton was completed as far as the executive offices were concerned by the 
15th of June, 1800. Congress adjourned May 14, 1800, having directed 
that the next or second session of the Sixth Congress should commence 
in Washington, November 17, 1800. 

The departure of the Government officials was considered of so little 
consequence by the editor of the General Advertiser, a daily published 
in that city, that the only reference to it was a brief paragraph of some 
three or four lines in the issue of June 12, 1800, stating that letters and 
newspapers must in the future be directed to the respective offices of the 
Government at the city of Washington. 

As is well known, Philadelphia was regarded during the ten years of 
the location of the seat of government there, as merely a temporary 
abode. Many of the Philadelphians, however, entertained the hope that 
the law which was passed in 1790, directing the removal of the seat of 
government to Philadelphia, pending the building of a capital city on 
the banks of the Potomac, would in some way be repealed, and that the 
Government would remain permanently in Philadelphia. No doubt the 
clerks, to a large degree, shared this hope, especially when they looked 
forward to making their homes in the wilderness, as Washington was 
then generally characterized. 

In this connection the fact is interesting that a large house, which was 
erected by the State of Pennsylvania on Ninth street, between Market 
and Chestnut streets, for the accommodation of the President of the 
United States, but which was never occupied either by President Wash- 
ington or President Adams, was not disposed of until after the official 
representatives of the Government had left the city, and then an 

'Read before the Columbia Historical Society, December 3, 1894. Senate Doc. 
62, 56th Cong., 1 st sess. 

253 



254 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

advertisement appeared in one of the local papers offering the property 
for sale. 

During the ten years the seat of government was located in Philadel- 
phia the Executive Departments occupied leased buildings, while the 
Houses of Congress sat in a building still standing at the corner of 
Sixth and Chestnut streets, which had been furnished for their use by 
the commissioners of the city and county of Philadelphia. 

Some recently discovered letters supply details both curious and valu- 
able in regard to the removal of the Government to this city. In the 
letter books in the files of the Post-Office Department were found two 
letters written by Mr. Abraham Bradley, jr., the Assistant Postmaster- 
General in the year 1800 and for many years later. In the fair and 
clerkly hand, which is characteristic of so many of the old records of the 
Government, made in the more leisurely days of the period now nearly 
one hundred years ago, is found recorded Mr. Bradley's impressions of the 
new city and an extremely minute account of the building secured for 
the use of the Post-Office Department, including even the dimensions of 
the rooms, as well as the prevailing rents in the city for private houses, 
the price of vegetables, and other interesting details. The Postmaster- 
General, Mr. Habersham, had gone to make a visit to his home in Geor- 
gia, and did not reach the new city until the fall. The entire charge of 
the removal of the Post-Office Department, therefore, devolved upon Mr. 
Bradley. Under date of June 2 Mr. Bradley writes to his friend Robert 
Patten as follows: 

We arrived here on Friday last, having had a pleasant journey as far as we traveled 
by daylight. Captain Stevenson, with whom I agreed for a house before my arrival, 
was not ready to give possession, and the house was not convenient for us. I have, 
therefore, taken a large three-story house within a few rods of Blodget's Hotel, which 
will accommodate the office and my family and the postmaster's office. It is about 
equidistant from the President's house and the Capitol. It is impossible that all the 
people attached to the public offices should be accommodated with houses, the few 
that have been left are at rents none under $250 and $300. Provisions are plenty, 
good enough, and cheaper than in Philadelphia. You can buy a peck of field straw- 
berries for a five-penny bit, garden at 11 cents a quart. Vegetation is at least two 
weeks earlier here than in Philadelphia. For myself, I do not regret the removal. 
The situation of the city is beautiful, and this season is extremely pleasant. 

Under date of June 11, Mr. Bradley writes to the Postmaster- General 
as follows: 

We have not been able to open the office and commence business until this day. 
I left Philadelphia on Wednesday, Ma}' 27, and arrived on Friday evening, the 29th. 
The President left Philadelphia the 26th, and arrived at Georgetown June 1. The 
situation of the city is extremely pleasant, and it will probably become the greatest 
city in America. Provisions are plenty and cheap; but it will hardly be possible for 
all those attached to the public offices to be accommodated with houses within 2 
miles of the offices. I have not been able to learn whether any house has been taken 
for your family, and have therefore been obliged to store your furniture in George- 
town. We have taken Dr. Cracker's house for this office (close by the Great Hotel) 



Removal of the Seat of Government. 255 

and for my family at $600 a year. The apportionment of the rent I shall leave to 
you. It appears that $200 is as much as I ought to pay for a house. Our office is 
kept on the second floor, which contains one large room and two small ones. The 
largest room is 27 by 17 feet, and the smallest rooms are each 15 by 14 feet. The 
front room on the first floor was prepared for Mr. Monroe's office, with an apartment 
for blanks. Only half the floors were laid when we took the house, and only four 
rooms were plastered. The owner allowed us to expend $300 of the rent to make it 
tenantable. The carpenters are now at work and we shall complete, as far as our 
money shall permit, by the last of next week, at which time Mr. Monroe will move 
his office here. * * * We have a flood of business on hand at this time, and our 
removal has put us a month in arrears. It took us a week to prepare to move, load, 
etc. , and it will take us another week to get our things in proper order. 

There is another letter in which Mr. Bradley drops the gossipy style of 
the preceding letters, and indulges in some caustic comment and thinly 
veiled sarcasm at the expense of the owner of the building which the 
Department occupied in Philadelphia. It is evident from this letter that 
sundry claims were made for compensation, alleging damage to the walls, 
the woodwork, and the fireplaces. From the vantage position of a two 
days' journey from Philadelphia, Mr. Bradley, as the representative of 
the Department, sturdily resisted these claims. He curtly informed the 
owner that the ink stains on the floors and the dents in the plaster and in 
the woodwork were nothing more than the ordinary wear and tear that 
might be expected, while as for the chimney back, he was told that if he 
had built his chimneys better he would not now be claiming that they 
were out of repair. 

The information which is in the letters of Mr. Bradley constitute a 
valuable contribution to the history of that period. While Mr. Bradley 
does not give the exact location of the building that was leased for the 
use of the Post-Office Department, his description is, perhaps, as accurate 
as could be expected under the circumstances. It is hardly necessary to 
say that while the streets of the city of Washington were beautifully 
delineated on paper and carefully named, there was no indication, or at 
least very little, in the city itself that there were any streets. Some 
years later a traveler to the city stated that he was in the center of the 
city when he thought he was some distance away. 

There was the Capitol and the White House, and midway, as Mr. 
Bradley says, the large building known then as Blodget's, or the Great 
Hotel. It was located on the site of the south wing of the present Post- 
Office Department building. From Mr. Bradley's account, as made 
more definite by other records, it is believed the house referred to was at 
or near the corner of Ninth and E streets northwest. Reference is made 
by Mr. Bradley to providing quarters for Mr. Monroe's office in this 
building. Mr. Monroe was at that time the postmaster of the city, and 
this statement clears up a rather doubtful period in the early history of 
the city post-office. At any rate, the joint tenancy of the Post-Office 
Department and the city post-office then began, which was continued, 
with but slight interruption, up to a few years ago. 
H. Doc. 552 17 



256 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The accounts of the removal of the Government to this city are 
extremely meager; in fact, it ma3' be said that the history of that event 
is still to be written. In all the histories of the city of Washington 
which have appeared from time to time since the year 1800 — and a com- 
plete collection would form quite a respectable library — this period has 
generally received slight attention, and, it may be said, in all cases inade- 
quate attention. It is noticeable that the tendency on the part of nearly 
all in treating of this event is to pack the Government effects into ver} r 
small and very few boxes and to reduce the official household to the 
lowest reasonable limits — probably for the same reason that influences 
individuals who have obtained wealth and position to exaggerate the 
poverty and difficulties which surrounded their early days. 

Perhaps the account which is most generally quoted is the one which 
appeared some years ago in an article in Harper's Magazine on the Early 
History of Washington. The writer, in referring to the removal of the 
Government to Washington, states that it was not "a very formidable 
transfer. The oldest inhabitant assures me," he continues, "that a 
single packet sloop brought all the office furniture of the Departments, 
besides ' seven large boxes and four or five smaller ones, ' which contained 
the archives of the Government. Fifty-four persons, comprising the 
President, Secretaries, and clerical force, chose their own method of 
conveyance." 

This bill of lading, as it might be termed, is not complete. The old- 
est inhabitant was evident a patriot, and if the occasion demanded, he 
would no doubt have as readily asserted that all the archives of the Gov- 
ernment were brought to this city in carpetbags by the Cabinet officers. 
The description which is given in Mr. Bradley's letter of the rooms 
which were provided for the use of one of the Executive Departments of 
the Government, the fact that only one building had been erected for the 
accommodation of the Executive Departments, although another was in 
course of erection, the extremely small civil list as compared with the 
present, and in general the comparatively slight volume of Government 
business, all seemingly confirm this popular impression of the insignifi- 
cance of the removal of the capital to Washington. 

The first Blue Book, which was printed in the year 1792, shows that 
the employees in the Government Departments numbered 134, exclusive 
of the heads of the Departments. The Navy Department was not then 
in existence, and the General Post-Office, with Timothy Pickering as 
Postmaster-General, is put down as having made no returns. The next 
Blue Book was sent to Congress by President Jefferson, January 12, 1802, 
and the number of Department employees is given as 126. The total 
amount paid in salaries when the transfer was made to Washington was 
$125,881. The employees for the first year in the new city, apportioned 
among the Departments, were as follows: State Department, 8 clerks; 
Treasury Department, 75; War Department, 17; Navy Department, 16, 
and Post-Office Department, 10. 



Removal of the Seat of Government. 257 

The only account of an eyewitness of the arrival in this city of the 
Government effects of which I have any knowledge is found in a small 
volume published in 1866, in which Christian Hines gives his recollec- 
tions of the early days of the Capital City. It is true that Mr. Hines 
wrote this book at the advanced age of 84, and it is but natural to sup- 
pose that in giving a description, unaided by a diary or other written 
data, of events which had happened sixty-four years before he would fall 
into some errors. He attempts to enumerate all the houses and their 
location which were standing in the year 1800, and of course he made 
mistakes. 

It may be presumed, however, that his recollections of such an event 
as the transfer to this city of the National Government are fairly accu- 
rate. At any rate, his account is interesting as a contemporary descrip- 
tion, especially in view of the fact that it is the only one in existence. 
It is a singular circumstance that the letter books and proceedings of 
the commissioners who were in charge of the erection of the public build- 
ings and the preparation for the accommodation of the Government in 
the new city contain no reference whatever to the arrival of the repre- 
sentatives of the Government in this city. Mr. Hines' s narrative of the 
removal is as follows : 

About this time ( 1800) the seat of government was removed from Philadelphia to 
Washington City. The vessels in which were brought the furniture, etc., landed 
and discharged their cargoes at L,ear's wharf, and as the vessels were unladen their 
contents were carted away to the War and Treasury offices, the only two that were 
built at the time. Some of the furniture was stored away in the stone warehouse 
and afterwards taken away in wagons, it being too bulky to remove in carts. Wagons 
were rather scarce in Washington then, and our cart was engaged with others in 
removing the boxes of books, papers, etc. I still remember that many of the boxes 
were marked "Joseph Nourse, Register." 

It will be noted that Mr. Hines uses the word ' ' vessels, ' ' and does 
not say that ' ' a single packet sloop ' ' brought all the office furniture and 
records. Fortunately there is more substantial evidence of the extent 
of this removal than is afforded by the recollections of a man 84 years of 
age. The disbursements of that year, as recorded in the records of the 
Treasury Department, show that over $48,000 were expended to defray 
the expenses of the removal. If all the Government archives and office 
furniture were transported in a " single packet sloop, ' ' and there were 
only 54 officials, the cost of the removal must be classed as one of the 
most extravagant expenditures in the history of the Government. 

While all the vouchers giving the details of this expenditure are no 
longer in existence, a sufficient number are preserved to indicate that 
this sum of money was actually expended for the purpose named. For 
example, there is an account with Israel Whelan, who held the office of 
purveyor of public supplies. This position was created under the theory 
which prevailed during the early years of this Government that as the 
Treasury Department was intrusted with the duty of raising the money 



258 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

to meet the expenses of the Government, it should also have supervision 
over the expenditures. All supplies for the Army and the Navy and the 
Indians, and practically everything used by the Government, were pur- 
chased \>y the purveyor of public supplies. It seems that the work of 
removing the Government effects was intrusted to Mr. Whelan, and 
while all the vouchers for the money which he expended in the discharge 
of this duty can not now be found, there is recorded the following 
statement: 

Account of Israel Whelan. By amount of his expenditures from the 5th of June, 

1800, to the 9th of February, 1S01, for the wagons and charter hire of vessels [notice 
the plural number] employed in the transportation of the President's furniture and 
the records and furniture of the public offices from Philadelphia to the city of Wash- 
ington, including various payments for carpenter work, porterage, and insurance, 
with his commission at i l / z per cent, $15,293.23. 

This account was duly audited and finally approved February 12, 

1801. It is evident from the wording of this account, as well as from 
the sum total expended, that "the single packet sloop" idea is hardly 
admissible. Independent of this evidence, it is reasonable to suppose 
that the accumulation of material and records belonging to the Govern- 
ment must have been at that period considerable. The Government had 
been in existence over ten years, and had succeeded to that of the Con- 
federacy, with all the records of the war, the muster books, the account 
books, and the various State papers. 

There is another item in the expense attending the removal which is 
still larger. The Government very justly and very properly defrayed 
all the expenses which the employees were subject to in consequence of 
the change in the location of the nation's Capital, as was done when the 
public offices were transferred from Philadelphia to Trenton, N. J., for 
a few weeks in the summer of 1799, owing to the prevalence of yellow 
fever in the former cit}'. From the Cabinet officers down to the messen- 
gers in the various Departments, the cost of boxing up personal effects 
and traveling expenses of each employee and his family were paid out of 
the public Treasury. The entries of the expenses incurred on this 
account are duly recorded, and show an aggregate of $32,872.34. 

In most cases the money seems to have been paid to the heads of 
Departments and bureaus, the amount being sufficient to cover the cost 
of the removal of all the employees in the respective bureaus and 
Departments. In addition, there were a number of personal accounts. 
Oliver Wolcott, then lately Secretary of the Treasury, received $510; 
Benjamin Stoddart, the Secretary of the Navy, $729; Charles Lee, the 
Attorney-General, $338; Samuel Meredith, the Treasurer of the United 
States, for himself and family, $516; and so the entries run on. The 
vouchers or bills accompanying these accounts have been lost, but for- 
tunately one bill has been preserved, and may serve as a sample of all 
the rest. The bill, and it is a unique one, which was presented by John 



Removal of the Seat of Government. 259 

Little, a clerk in the Register's office, and which was duly paid, read as 
follows: 

For the following expenses attending the removal of himself and family, consisting 
of nine persons, from the city of Philadelphia to the city of Washington: 

For expenses actually incurred in October, 1799, for procuring me a 
house in the city of Washington $30. 00 

Carpenter's bill for making of boxes and cases for furniture, including 
boards, nails, and packing of same 96. 00 

Paid I. Irvine for the hire of a carriage for the removal of self and 
family, nine in number, from the city of Philadelphia to Washington. 100. 00 

Expenses on the road, six days 72. 00 

Paid D. Cochran for hauling furniture from Lear's store to my house ... 7. 00 

For board after our arrival in Washington until the house was put in 

repair to receive us 3°- o0 

My official duty compelling me to remain in Philadelphia till the 1st of 
July, in order to complete the dividends for the payment of interest, I 
charge for board of self and family in Philadelphia after the shipment 
of my furniture until that day, deducting the difference of boarding 
my family and what it would have cost us in housekeeping 30. 00 

During the hurry generally attending a removal many incidental expenses 
occurred of which I kept no account. The damage occasioned by the 
removal of my furniture was considerable, which with cooperage, 
porterage from my house in Philadelphia to the wharf and other neces- 
sary expenses not enumerated would, upon a moderate computation, 
amount to • So. 00 

Total 445- 00 

It may be inferred that if Mr. John Little ever before in the course of 
his careful life omitted any detail, he certainly did not do so on this 
occasion when rendering his bill to the Government. It might also be 
added that his kind and paternal Government seems to have paid the 
bill without demurrer. It is evident from the accounts that the other 
clerks were treated with equal liberality, though why Mr. Little should 
have taken six days to come from Philadelphia to Washington, when 
Mr. Bradley states that he was two days in making the journey, is 
rather difficult to understand, except on the ground that Mr. Little's 
numerous family may have required more rest and recreation in travel- 
ing than the Assistant Postmaster-General. However, as the Govern- 
ment did not object to the charge at that time, it is hardly worth while 
to cavil at the bill at this late day. 

While the records and furniture of the Government Departments were 
conveyed to this city by means of vessels, the Government employees 
traveled by private conveyances, or by stages which ran from Phila- 
delphia to Baltimore and on to this city. It is probable that in most 
cases the arrangements for their accommodations were made prior to 
their coming here. As there were but comparatively few houses erected 
in this city at that time, the majority of the Government employees were 
obliged to go to Georgetown. The population of the city in 1800 was 
estimated to be about 3,000. A large proportion were artisans and 



260 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

laborers engaged upon the public works. On May 15, 1800, there were 
109 brick houses in the city and 253 frame houses. During the follow- 
ing 3'ear 84 brick houses and in frame houses were completed, and, 
including the unfinished structures, there was on November 15, 1801, a 
grand total of 721 houses in the city. 

The only building that was then completed and ready for the occu- 
pancy of the Executive Departments of the Government was the Treasury 
Department building, which occupied the site of the south front of the 
present edifice. It was a plain, two-story structure of brick and stone, 
with an attic and basement, and contained 30 rooms. This building was 
destroj r ed by fire in 1833, and the ruins were removed to give place to 
the present structure, the erection of which was begun about that time. 

The original building was in exterior appearance the counterpart of 
the old State Department, which was subsequently erected on the site of 
the present north front of the Treasury building, and was only removed 
within comparatively recent years. 

A short time before the removal to Washington, the commissioners in 
charge of preparing the new city for the use of the Government began 
the erection of a building similar in appearance and size to the Treasury 
Office at the southwest corner of the White House grounds, but it was 
not ready for the occupancy of the clerks at the time of the removal. It 
was known as the War Office, and in later years was called the Navy 
Department building. The Treasury Department, which at that period 
was the largest and most important Department, and is probably so 
considered to-day, took possession of the building which had been erected 
for its use. The War Department leased a three-story house on the 
south side of Pennsylvania avenue, between Twenty-first and Twenty- 
second streets, nearly opposite a hotel kept by William O'Neal, whose 
daughter Peggy gained much notoriety during Jackson's administration. 

The Post-Office Department, as Mr. Bradley states, occupied a build- 
ing at the corner of Ninth and E streets. The other Departments prob- 
ably secured quarters in leased buildings in the vicinity of the White 
House, and the habit which the Government formed at that early day 
of renting buildings for the accommodation of the Executive Departments, 
instead of erecting buildings, has continued to mark its policy ever since. 

Owing to the limited accommodations which had been provided for the 
Government in the new city, a large proportion of the Government 
effects were stored in the stone warehouse which had been erected at the 
foot of Twenty-fifth street by Col. Tobias Lear, formerly a private secre- 
tary of General Washington. During the succeeding months of the 
summer the officials had an opportunity to recover from the confusion of 
the removal and to set going again the wheels of the machinery of the 
public business. President Adams made but a short visit at this time. 

Congress convened in the new city November 17, or rather the 21st, 
when a quorum of both Houses was present, and the members of that 



Removal of the Seat of Government. 261 

august body did not fare much better than the employees of the Execu- 
tive Departments in respect to the accommodations which were provided. 
Only the north wing of the Capitol had been completed, and both bodies 
met in that portion of the building. An appropriation of $9,000 for the 
purchase of furniture for the use of the Houses of Congress had been 
made and liberal provision was allowed to the officers of Congress to 
defray the expenses of removal. Some $6,000 was spent in providing 
suitable furniture for the President's house, but it is evident from Mrs. 
Adams's letters that only a small proportion was in place when she 
arrived there in November. 

The War Department officials had barely become located in the build- 
ing on Pennsylvania avenue when a fire broke out and destroyed a large 
part of the records. The fire occurred in November, 1800, and in the 
following January the employees of the Treasury Department had a 
somewhat similar experience, although the flames, fortunately, were 
soon under control, and comparatively little damage was done. 

These fires gave rise to a good deal of comment, and the Democratic 
party, which had just won a victory over the Federalists, was inclined to 
attribute their origin to some political motive on the part of their 
defeated opponents. A newspaper called the Cabinet, which had a 
short-lived existence, was at that time published in Washington, the 
editor being the son of Matthew Lyon, a member of the House from 
Vermont, who will be remembered as one of the principals in one of the 
most desperate personal encounters that ever took place on the floor of 
the House. 

Mr. L,yon, jr., had no hesitation in saying in the columns of his paper 
that the fires in the Department buildings were deliberate attempts of 
the party then in power to destroy the records and thus cover up the 
evidence of its maladministration. In consequence of these charges a 
Congressional investigation was held, but the testimony showed that the 
fires were due to defective construction. This incident in some particu- 
lars is not without its modern counterpart, although it has never happened 
since that fires in the Government Department buildings have followed 
the political defeat of the dominant party and have given rise to similar 
suspicions. 



THE CENTENNIAL OF THE PERMANENT SEAT OF 
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 1 



By Samuel C. Busey, M. D. 



In view of the contemplated commemoration, in 1900, of the removal 
of the seat of the Government from the city of Philadelphia to the city 
of Washington, a collation and review of the events which led up to and 
completed the establishment of ' ' The permanent seat of the Govern- 
ment ' ' on the river Potomac may add interest to that occasion and 
invite attention to some historic incidents and facts which seem to have 
been forgotten. 

The title of this paper suggests the inquiry, Should the celebration 
to take place in 1900 commemorate the mechanical removal of the busi- 
ness affairs, books, papers, and chattels of the Government from Phila- 
delphia to the city of Washington in 1800, or the establishment and 
occupancy of the permanent seat of the Government of the United 
States? And also the further inquiry, Did the Constitution or Con- 
gress, by the act of July 16, 1790, either by direction or implication, 
intend to found a capital city, or to acquire, locate, and define a district 
not exceeding 10 miles square for the "permanent seat of the Gov- 
ernment?" The data herein cited will supply the answers to these 
inquiries. 

Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution gave to Congress' the power 
' ' to exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such dis- 
trict (not exceeding 10 miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the Govern- 
ment of the United States." 

By an act approved DeceniDer 23, 1788, entitled "An act to cede to 
Congress a district ten miles square in this State for the seat of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States, ' ' the State of Maryland directed that — 

The Representatives of this State in the House of Representatives of the Congress 
of the United States, appointed to assemble at New York on the first Wednesday of 
March next, be, and they are hereby, authorized and required, on behalf of this State, 
to cede to the Congress of the United States any district in this State, not exceeding 
ten miles square, which the Congress may fix upon and accept for the seat of govern- 
ment of the United States. 

' Read before the Columbia Historical Society, November 6, 1899. Senate Doc. 62, 
Fifty-sixth Congress, first session. 

263 



264 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The State of Virginia, in the act approved December 3, 1789, entitled 
' 'An act for the cession of ten miles square, or any lesser quantity of 
territory within this State, to the United States in Congress assembled, 
for the permanent seat of the General Government," cites the considera- 
tions and advantages of a " situation for the seat of said Government ' ' 
on the banks of the river Potomac, and in the second section enacts — 

Sec 2. That a tract of country not exceeding ten miles square, or any lesser 
quantity, to be located within the limits of this State, and in any part thereof as 
Congress may by law direct, shall be, and the same is, forever ceded and relin- 
quished to the Congress and Government of the United States, in full and absolute 
right and exclusive jurisdiction, as well of the soil as of persons residing or to reside 
thereon, pursuant to the tenor and effect of the eighth section of the first article of 
the Constitution of the Government of the United States. 

These acts of cession by the legislatures of the States of Maryland and 
Virginia promoted the favorable consideration of the selection of the 
location of the permanent seat of the Government, which terminated in 
the approval of the following act of Congress, July 16, 1790 : 



AN ACT for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United 

States. 

Section i. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That a district of territory not exceeding 
ten miles square, to be located as hereafter directed on the river Potomac, at some 
space between the mouths of the Eastern Branch and Conogocheague, be, and the 
same is hereby, accepted for the permanent seat of the Government of the United 
States : Provided, nevertheless, That the operation of the laws of the State within 
the said district shall not be affected by the acceptance until the time fixed for the 
removal of the Government thereto, and until Congress shall otherwise by law direct. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be 
authorized to appoint, and by supplying vacancies happening from refusals to act or 
other causes, to keep in appointment as long as may be necessary, three commission- 
ers, who, or any two of whom, shall, under the direction of the President, survey and 
by proper metes and bounds define and limit a district or territory under the limit- 
ations above mentioned; and the district so defined, limited, and located shall be 
deemed the district accepted by this act for the permanent seat of the Government 
of the United States. 

Sec. 3. And be it enacted, That the said commissioners, or any two of them, shall 
have power to purchase or accept such quantity of land on the eastern side of said 
river, within the said district, as the President shall deem proper for the use of the 
United States; and according to such plans as the President shall approve, the said 
commissioners, or any two of them, shall, prior to the first Monday in December, in 
the year of one thousand eight hundred, provide suitable buildings for the accom- 
modation of Congress and of the President and for public offices of the Government 
of the United States. 

SEC 4. And be it enacted, That for defraying of the expenses of said purchases 
and buildings the President of the United States be authorized and requested to 
accept grants of land. 

Sec. 5. And be it enacted, That prior to the first Monday in December next all 
offices attached to the seat of Government of the United States shall be removed to, 
and until the first said Monday in December, in the year one thousand eight hun- 
dred, shall remain at the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, at which 
place the session of Congress next ensuing to the present shall be held. 



Centennial of the Permanent Seat of Government. 265 

SEC 6. And be it enacted. That on the said first Monday in December, in the 
year one thousand eight hundred, the seat of Government of the United States shall, 
by virtue of this act, be transferred to the district and place aforesaid; and all offices 
attached to the said seat of Government shall accordingly be moved thereto by their 
respective holders, and shall, after the said day, cease to be exercised elsewhere, and 
that the necessary expense of such removal shall be defrayed out of the duties on 
imports and tonnage, of which a sufficient sum is hereby appropriated. 

The record does not show any proceeding in pursuance of the act of 
July 16, 1790, until the appointment of three commissioners, by the 
issuance of letters patent, January 22, 1791, which reads as follows: 

[seat,.] George Washington, President of the United States. To all who shall 
see these presents, greeting: 

Know you, that, reposing special trust and confidence in the integrity, skill, and 
diligence of Thos. Johnson and Daniel Carroll, of Maryland, and David Stewart, of 
Virginia, I do, in pursuance of the power vested in me by the act entitled "An act 
for the establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the 
United States," approved July 16, 1790, hereby appoint them, the said Thomas 
Johnson, Daniel Carroll, and David Stewart, commissioners for surveying the dis- 
trict of territory accepted by the said act for the permanent seat of the Government 
of the United States, and for performing such other offices as by law directed, with 
full authority for them, or any two of them, to proceed therein according to law, 
and to have and to hold the said office, with all the powers, privileges, and authori- 
ties to the same of right appertaining to each of them, during the pleasure of the 
President of the United States for the time being. 

In testimony whereof, I have caused these letters to be made patent and the seal 
of the United States thereto affixed. 

Given under my hand, at the city of Philadelphia, the twenty-second day of Jan- 
uary, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, and of 
the Independence of the United States the fifteenth. 

The succeeding events passed so rapidly that one is forced to the con- 
clusion that Washington, during the period of apparent inaction, from 
July 16, 1790, to January 22, 1791, had given the .subject such consid- 
eration as his judgment approved, and had concluded, as set forth in his 
proclamation bearing date January 24, two days later than the issuance 
of the letters patent, to the effect that "after duly examining and 
weighing the advantages and disadvantages of several situations," he 
declared where he would locate and how he would ascertain and define 
the boundary lines of the district ' ' for the permanent seat of the Gov- 
ernment of the United States." He had, furthermore, fixed the loca- 
tion and sketched the outline of a city, within the territory to be 
included within the survey, as shown by the following letter of Mr. 
Jefferson to the commissioners, dated Philadelphia, January 15, 1791: 1 
The President, thinking it would be better that the outline at least of the city, 
and perhaps -Georgetown, should be laid down in the plat of the territory, I have 
the honor now to send it, and to desire that Major Ellicott may do it as soon as 
convenient, that it may be returned in time to be laid before Congress. 

1 Records Columbia Historical Society, vol. 2, p. 170. As Major Ellicott's appoint- 
ment is dated February 2, 1791, the date of the letter of Mr. Jefferson must be an 
error. The correct date should be February 15 instead of January 15. 



266 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Next in order, following the issuance of the letters patent, is the 
proclamation of January 24, 1791, which reads as follows: 

Whereas the general assembly of Maryland, by an act passed on the 23rd day of 
December, 178S, entitled "An act to cede to Congress a district of ten miles square 
in this State for the seat of the Government of the United States," did enact that 
the Representatives of the said State, in the House of Representatives in Congress 
of the United States appointed to assemble at New York on the first Wednesday in 
March then next ensuing, should be, and they were thereby, authorized and 
required on behalf of the said State, to cede to the Congress of the United States 
an}' district in the said State, not exceeding ten miles square, which the Congress 
might fix upon and accept for the seat of Government of the United States. 

And the general assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, by act passed the 3d 
da)' of December, 1789, and entitled "An act for the cession of ten miles square, or 
any lesser quantity of territory, within this said State to the United States, in Con- 
gress assembled, for the permanent seat of the General Government," did enact that 
a tract of country not exceeding ten miles square, or any lesser quantity, to be located 
within the limits of the said State, and in any part thereof, as Congress might by 
law direct, should be, and the same was thereby, forever ceded and relinquished to 
the Congress and Government of the United States, in full and absolute right and 
exclusive jurisdiction, as well of soil as of persons residing or to reside thereon, pur- 
suant to the tenor and effect of the eighth section of the first article of the Constitu- 
tion of the Government of the United States. 

And the Congress of the United States, by their act passed on the 16 day of July, 
1700, and entitled "An act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of Gov- 
ernment of the United States," authorized the President of the United States to 
appoint three commissioners to survey, under his direction, and by proper metes and 
bounds, to limit a district of territory not exceeding ten miles square, on the river 
Potomac, at some place between the Eastern Branch and Conococheague, which dis- 
trict so to be located and limited was accepted by the said act of Congress as the 
district for the present seat of the Government of the United States. 

Now, therefore, in pursuance of the powers to me confided, and after duly examin- 
ing and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the several situations within 
the limits aforesaid, I do hereby declare and make known that the location of one 
part of the said district of ten miles square shall be found by running four lines of 
experiment in the following manner: That is to say, running from the court-house 
of Alexandria in Virginia, due southwest half a mile, and thence a due southeast 
course till it shall strike Hunting Creek, to fix the beginning of the said four lines 
of experiment. Then beginning the first of the four lines of experiment at the point 
on Hunting Creek where the said southeast course shall have struck the same, and 
running the said first line due northwest ten miles; thence the second line into Mary- 
land due northeast ten miles: thence the third line due southeast ten miles, and 
thence the fourth line due southwest ten miles, to the beginning on Hunting Creek. 

And the said four lines of experiment being so run, I do hereby declare and make 
known that all that part within the said four lines of experiment which shall be 
within the State of Maryland and above the Eastern Branch, and all that part within 
the same four lines of experiment which shall be within the Commonwealth of Vir- 
ginia, and above a line to be run from the point of landing forming the upper cape 
of the mouth of the Eastern Branch due southwest, and no more, is now fixed upon 
and directed to be surveyed, defined, limited, and located for the said district, 
accepted by the said act of Congress for the permanent seat of the Government of 
the United States; hereby expressly reserving the direction of the survey and location 
of the remaining part of the said district, to be made hereafter contiguous to such 
part or parts of the present location as is or shall be agreeable to law. 



Centennial of the Permanent Seat of Government. 267 

And I do accordingly direct the said commissioners, appointed agreeably to the 
tenor of the said act, to proceed forthwith to run the said lines of experiment, and 
the same being run, to survey, and by proper metes and bounds to define and limit 
the part within the same which is hereinbefore directed for immediate location and 
acceptance; and thereof to make due report to me, under their hands and seals. 

In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to 
these presents, and signed the same with my hand. Done at the city of Phila- 
delphia, the 24th day of January, in the year of our Lord 1791, and of the Independ- 
ence of the United States the fifteenth. 

[seai,.] George Washington. 

By the President: 

Thomas Jefferson. 

A letter dated Philadelphia, February 2, 1791, is addressed by Mr. 
Jefferson, as follows: 1 
To Major EllicoTT: 

You are desired to proceed by the first stage to the Federal territory on the 
Potomac for the purpose of making a survey of it. * * * 

Iii this letter full directions are given in regard to the survey, and the 
wish is expressed that " it be made with all the dispatch possible. ' ' 
To this Major Ellicott replies in a letter dated February 14, 1791: 
Sir: I arrived at this town on Monday last, but the cloudy weather prevented 
any observations being made until Friday, which was fine. On Saturday the two 
first lines were completed. * * * 

Thus may the date of the beginning of the survey of the Federal 
territory be fixed, approximately, for February 12, 1791, and the next 
day (Saturday the 13th) the date of completion of the initial lines to 
locate on Hunting Creek the point of beginning of the four experimental 
lines to mark the boundary of the district to become the permanent seat 
of the Government. Within these lines was included a part of the State 
of Virginia, not contemplated in the act of Congress of July 16, 1790, 
which was subsequently accepted and approved by the following amenda- 
tory act, approved March 3, 1791, entitled — 

AN ACT to amend an act establishing a temporary seat of the Government of the United States. 
That so much of the act entitled "An act for establishing the temporary and 
permanent seat of Government of the United States" as requires that the whole of 
the district or territory, not exceeding ten miles square, to be located on the river 
Potomac for the permanent seat of the Government of the United States, shall be 
located above the mouth of the Eastern Branch be, and the same is hereby, repealed, 
and that it shall be lawful for the President to make any part of the said territory 
below the said limit, and above the mouth of Hunting Creek, a part of said district, so 
as to include a convenient part of the Eastern Branch and of the lands lying on the 
lower side thereof, and also the town of Alexandria; and the territory so included 
shall form a part of the district, not exceeding ten miles square, for the permanent 
seat of the Government of the United States, in like manner and to all intents and 
purposes as if the same had been within the purview of the above-recited act: Pro- 
vided, That nothing herein contained shall authorize the erection of the public 
buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the River Potomac, as required by 
the aforesaid act. 

1 Records of the Columbia Historical Society, vol. 2, p. 170. 



268 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Ellicott continued in charge of the survey and marking with boundary- 
stones the outlines of the Federal territory, which he reported com- 
pleted January i, 1793. 

On March 11, 1791, Maj. Peter Charles L'Enfant wrote to Mr. 
Jefferson from Georgetown, informing him of his arrival there in obedi- 
ence to the following order from Mr. Jefferson, dated March, 1791: 

Sir: You are desired to proceed to Georgetown, where you will find Mr. Ellicott 
employed in making a survey and map of the Federal territory. The especial object 
of asking your aid is to have drawings of the particular grounds most likely to be 
approved for the site of the Federal town and buildings. You will, therefore, be 
pleased to begin on the Eastern Branch, and proceed from thence upwards, laying 
down the hills, valleys, morasses, and the waters between that, the Potomac, the 
Tiber, and the road leading from Georgetown to the Eastern Branch, and the whole 
with certain fixed points of the map Mr. Ellicott is preparing. Some idea of the 
height of the hills above the base on which the)- stand would be desirable. For 
necessary assistance and expenses be pleased to apply to the mayor of Georgetown, 
who is written to on the subject. I will beg the favor of you to mark to me your 
progress about twice a week — say every Wednesday and Saturday evening — that I 
may be able in proper time to draw attention to some other objects which I have not 
at this moment sufficient information to define. 1 

In his letter of notification of arrival at Georgetown L,' Enfant 2 refers 
to a hasty and partial exploration of the site made on horseback, in 
which he states that the part between the river and Ferry road, connect- 
ing Georgetown with the ferry across the Eastern Branch, the course of 
which is not stated, presents ' ' a situation most advantageous to run 
streets and prolong them on a grand scale and for distant points of 
view," and that other spots "seem to be less commendable for the 
establishment of a city * * * on that grand scale on which it ought 
to be planned. ' ' But after a more complete observation and study of 
the site, he sums up in his preliminary report to the President, delivered 
in writing upon his arrival in Georgetown March 28, 1791, his final 
conclusion in the following sentences: 

Thus in every respect advantageously situated the Federal City would soon grow 
of itself, and spread as the branches of a tree does toward where they meet with most 
nourishment. 

then the attractive local will lay all Round and at distance not beyond those limits 
wherein the which a City the Capital of an Extensive Empire may be deliniated.3 

To L,' Enfant is due the authorship of the designation Capital City. 
Mr. Jefferson had previously referred to the Federal City or Federal 
Town. Subsequently it was known as the Federal City by Washington 
and those who had occasion to refer to it, until it was named the "City 
of Washington" by the commissioners, September 9, 1791. 

Washington arrived in Georgetown March 28, 1791, and the next day 
proceeded, in company with the three commissioners and the two sur- 

1 Pictures of the City of Washington in the Past, p. 10S. 
= Records of the Columbia Historical Society, vol. 2, p. 150. 
3 Records of the Columbia Historical Societv vol. 2, o. 30. 



Centennial of the Permanent Seat of Government. 269 

veyors, Ellicott and L' Enfant, to mark the metes and bounds of the site 
of the city. On the evening of the same day he effected an agreement 
with the landowners for the transfer of such portions of their property as 
he might desire for the Government, which agreement was signed March 
30, 1 79 1. Immediately after the execution of this agreement, on the 
same day, before leaving Georgetown, the President issued the following 
proclamation: 

Whereas, by proclamation bearing date the 24th day of Jan., of this present year, 
and in pursuance of certain acts of the States of Maryland and Virginia and the Con- 
gress of the United States, therein mentioned, certain lines of experiment were 
directed to be run in the neighborhood of Georgetown, in Maryland, for the purpose 
of locating a part of the territory of ten miles square, for the permanent seat of the 
Government of the United States, and a certain part was directed to be located 
within the said lines of experiment on both sides of the Potomac, and above the 
limits of the Eastern Branch, prescribed by the said act of Congress; 

And Congress, by an amendatory act passed on the 3d day of this present month 
of March, have given further authority to the President of the United States "to 
make any part of the said territory below the said limit and above the mouth of 
Hunting Creek a part of said district, so as to include a convenient part of the East- 
ern Branch, and of the lands lying on the lower side thereof, and also the town of 
Alexandria; " 

Now, therefore, for the purpose of amending and completing the location of the 
whole of the said territory of ten miles square, in conformity with the said amenda- 
tory act of Congress, I do hereby declare and make known that the whole of the 
said territory shall be located and included within the four lines following, that is 
to say: 

Beginning at Jones's Point, being the upper cape of Hunting Creek, in Virginia, 
and at an angle in the outset of forty-five degrees west of the north, and running in 
a direct line ten miles, for the first line ; then beginning again at the same Jones's 
Point, and running another direct line, at a right angle with the first, across the 
Potomac ten miles, for the second line ; thence from the termination of the said first 
and second lines, running two other lines of ten miles each, the one crossing the 
Eastern Branch aforesaid and the other the Potomac, and meeting each other in a 
point. 

And I do accordingly direct the commissioners named under the authority of the 
said first -mentioned act of Congress to proceed forthwith to have the said four lines 
run, and by proper metes and bounds, defined and limited, and thereof to make due 
report, under their hands and seals; and the territory to be located, defined, and 
limited shall be the whole territory accepted by the said act of Congress as the dis- 
trict for the permanent seat of the Government of the United States. 

In testimony thereof I have caused the seal of the United States to be affixed to 
these presents, and signed the same with my own hand. Done at George- 
[SRAL.] town aforesaid the 30th day of March, in the year of our I,ord 1791, and 
of the independence of the United States the fifteenth. 
(Signed) George Washington. 

By the President : 

Thomas Jefferson. 

L' Enfant continued the preparation of a plan of the city, which was 
presented completed to the President at Philadelphia, August 19, 1791, 
and by him accepted and approved, and subsequently, December 13, 
1 79 1, placed before the Senate and House of Representatives with the 



270 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

statement that it was ' ' the plan of a city that has been laid out within 
the district of 10 miles square which was fixed upon for the permanent 
seat of the Government of the United States. ' ' 

Such is the story of the selection of the location for the permanent 
seat of the Government and the foundation of a city within the limits of 
the Federal territory. The word city, nor any reference to such a 
foundation, does not appear either in the provision of the Constitution or 
in the acts of cession of the States of Maryland and Virginia, the act of 
Congress of July 16, 1790, the amendatory act of March 3, 1791, the 
letters patent, proclamation of January 24, 1791, prescribing the method 
of fixing the beginning of the survey of the 10 miles square, at which 
point the corner stone was laid by Dr. Elisha Cullen Dick, April 15, 
1791, in the presence of a large concourse of citizens; nor in any of the 
preliminary official acts relating to the location of the permanent seat of 
the Government, except in a letter of Jefferson to the commissioners, 
of January 15, 1791, in which occurs the reference to a sketch of the 
outline of a city. The designation "Capital City " appears first in a pre- 
liminary report of L' Enfant, bearing date March 26, 1791, but not in 
any other of the early official ■ documents relating thereto. It may be 
that the authority granted to the commissioners by the act of July 16, 
1790, "to provide suitable buildings for the accommodation of Congress 
and of the President, and for the public offices of the Government of the 
United States, and the provision in the amendatory act of March 3, 1791; 
that nothing herein contained shall authorize the erection of the public 
buildings otherwise than on the Maryland side of the river Potomac, as 
required by the aforesaid act," may have, at least by implication, justi- 
fied and impelled the acquisition and laying out of an area around and 
about the public buildings sufficient in extent to accommodate with resi- 
dences and homes the officers and employees of the Government, and 
such a community of citizens and visitors as it was reasonable to suppose 
would seek a city in which were located the public buildings, and at 
which the high officials and dignitaries of the Government would reside. 
Its foundation is, perhaps, another and striking exemplification of the 
broad and astute wisdom and sagacity of Washington, but it was with- 
out authority of law, except by implication. 

Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution provides for the location and 
acceptance by Congress of a district not exceeding 10 miles square for 
the permanent seat of the Government of the United States. Pursuant 
to the tenor and effect of this provision, the acts of cession of the States 
of Maryland and Virginia, the act of Congress of July 16, 1790, the letters 
patent, the amendatory act of March 3, 1791, and the proclamations of 
the President of January 24 and March 30, 1791, refer to the seat of the 
Government as a district, territory, tract, tract of territory or country 
not exceeding 10 miles square. The acts of Congress of May 6, 1796, 
and April 18, 1798, authorize "loans for the city of Washington, in the 



Centennial of the Permanent Seat of Government. 271 

District of Columbia." In the first of these acts the appellations "city 
of Washington ' ' and ' ' District of Columbia ' ' appear for the first time in 
an act of Congress. The State of Virginia emphasizes the cession of a 
"tract of country, not exceeding 10 miles square, or any lesser quan- 
tity, * * * in full and absolute right and exclusive jurisdiction _/w-- 
ever, as well of soil as of persons residing or to reside thereon. ' ' 

The district, territory, or tract of country was designated, probably first 
by Jefferson, the Federal Territory; subsequently, September 9, 1791, by 
the commissioners, the Territory of Columbia; and finally, by the act of 
Congress of May 6, 1796," the District of Columbia, as such part as remains 
in possession of the United States is known to-day. ° Pursuant to the 
act of Congress of July 16, 1790, and to the amendatory act of March 3, 
1 79 1, and to the proclamation of the President of January 24, 1791, the 
District of Columbia became the permanent seat of the Government on 
and after the first Monday of December, 1800, and the part of the said 
10 miles square now known as the District of Columbia must now be, 
as it has been since the act of retrocession in 1846, the permanent seat 
of the Government. By the act of retrocession Virginia recovered and 
continues to hold possession of such part of the original Federal Terri- 
tory as lies on the Virginia side of the River Potomac, notwithstanding 
the cession of such territory was made "in full and absolute right and 
exclusive jurisdiction" forever. 

In support of the contention that the District of Columbia is ' ' the 
permanent seat of the Government," the following data from the annals 
of the Sixth Congress may be cited : 

In his address to the Senate and House of Representatives delivered 
December 3, 1799, the President refers to the transfer of the seat of the 
Government from Philadelphia ' ' to the district chosen for its permanent 
seat." In the response of the House of Representatives to his address, 
reference is made to this district as the permanent seat of the Govern- 
ment. 

In his address to both Houses of Congress delivered in this city 
November 22, 1800, President Adams congratulated "the people of the 
United States on the assembling of Congress at the permanent seat of 
their Government," and submitted to Congress the consideration whether 
the local powers over the District of Columbia, which he denominated 
"the capital of a great nation," should be immediately exercised. In 
its reply to this address the House of Representatives declared that ' ' a 
consideration of those powers which have been vested in Congress over 
the District of Columbia will not escape our attention ; nor shall we 
forget that in exercising these powers a regard must be had to those 
events which will necessarily attend the capital of America. ' ' 

At the time of the cession and acceptance of the territory it was 

' Probably quoted from the act of Maryland, passed December 28, 1793. 
= Pictures of the City of Washington in the Past, p. 36. 

H. Doc. 552 18 



272 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

known to Congress, as it was to the President, that the towns ot Alex- 
andria and Georgetown and the village settlements of Carrollsburg and 
Hamburg were located within the limits of the district aforesaid, but no 
reference is made to these towns or villages in connection with the 
foundation of a new city, except the statement of Ellicott in his letter 
of February 14, 1791, from Alexandria, that the inhabitants "are truly 
rejoiced at the prospect of being included in the Federal district," and 
of Washington in his letter from Richmond, April 12, 1791, to the com- 
missioners, that the inclusion of Georgetown within the limits of the 
Federal city would "render the plan more comprehensive, beneficial, 
and promising, drawing the center of the Federal city nearer to the 
present town." At a later date, probably about the close of his first 
term, Washington, in a letter to Arthur Young, expressed the opinion 
that "the Federal city in the year 1800 will become the seat of the 
General Government of the United States." 

It is worthy of note in this connection that the initial form of govern- 
ment of the permanent seat of the Government was a commission of 
three persons, appointed by the President without the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate, subject to his direction and supervision and removal 
at his pleasure. To all intents and purposes it was a government by 
the President, without the restraints and limitations of law, except as 
might be necessary to legalize acts ahead)' accomplished. This form of 
government continued in force until abolished by the act of May 1, 
1 80 1, which created the office of superintendent, charged with various 
additional duties. Congress, by the acts of May 6, 1796, and April 18, 
1798, provided for loans for the use of the city of Washington and the 
payment of the same with funds to be raised by the sale of lots in said 
city, and by the act of February 27, 1801, divided the District of 
Columbia into the counties of Washington and Alexandria, but did not 
make the city of Washington a body politic until May 3, 1802, by the 
"Act to incorporate the inhabitants of the city of Washington, in the 
District of Columbia," which is, perhaps, logically and legally the inau- 
gural date and year of the city of Washington, and certainly as a body 
corporate. Previous to this date, but after the removal of the perma- 
nent seat of the Government, Congress passed several laws concerning 
the District of Columbia which were general in their application to the 
entire territory. 

Pursuant to the tenor and intent of section 8 of Article I of the Consti- 
tution, Congress by the act of July 16, 1790, directed a survey to define 
by proper metes and bounds ' ' the district for the permanent seat of the 
Government," and provided for the erection within the limits of said 
district of ' ' suitable buildings for the accommodation of Congress, and 
of the President, and for the public offices of the Government," and fur- 
thermore, that, "on the first Monday in December, in the year of one 
thousand eight hundred, the seat of Government of the United States, 



Centennial of the Permanent Seat of Government. 273 

shall, by virtue of this act, be transferred to the district and place afore- 
said ; and all offices attached to said seat of Government shall accord- 
ingly be removed thereto by their respective holders, and shall after the 
said date, cease to be exercised elsewhere. ' ' 

By the act of April 24, 1800, the President was authorized to antici- 
pate the removal of ' ' the various offices belonging to the several Execu- 
tive Departments of the United States" to the city of Washington. 
Appropriations were made for the purchase of furniture for the ' ' house 
erected in the city of Washington for the accommodation of the Presi- 
dent ' ' and for the ' ' apartments which are to be occupied in the Capitol 
at said city" by the two Houses of Congress, and also for the pavement 
of streets for the comfort and convenience of members of Congress in the 
city of Washington. By the act of May 13, 1800, Congress directed 
that a session should "be held at the city of Washington," to commence 
on the third Monday of November next ensuing. In neither of these 
acts is the city of Washington designated or referred to as the Capital 
City, nor is section 6 of the act of July 16, 1790, repealed or altered, 
except so far as may be implied by the authority granted to the Presi- 
dent to anticipate, at his pleasure, the removal of the ' ' various offices 
* * * before the time heretofore appointed by law for such removal. ' ' 
The Supreme Court of the United States adjourned its last session at 
Philadelphia to reassemble at Washington, February 4, 1801. 

Congress has erected public buildings outside of the original limits of 
the city of Washington, as, for instance, the buildings for the Observa- 
tory, Columbia Institute for the Deaf and Dumb, St. Elizabeth Asylum, 
and Soldiers' Home, and no one will contest the power of Congress to 
authorize the construction of a residence for the President beyond such 
limits. Congress has also appropriated large sums of money for repair, 
improvement, and extension of roadway's, and for the purchase of a large 
tract of land for a public park outside of such limits, and recently, by 
the highway act, provided for the extension of the streets and avenues 
of the city to the utmost limits of the District of Columbia. Such facts 
are significant of the intention of Congress to maintain ' ' the permanent 
seat of the Government ' ' as defined by the Constitution and initial act 
of Congress of July 16, 1790. Perhaps not less significant of popular 
judgment is the recent establishment within the territory of Columbia 
of several institutions of learning which seek to expand and to elevate 
the standard of the educational facilities of the permanent seat of the 
Government. 

There must be, at least, a technical if not a legal distinction between 
the transfer of the seat of the Government and the removal of the offices 
attached thereto, upon which, in connection with the data cited, must 
rest the contention that the said District, not the city of Washington, is 
now the permanent seat of the Government. The Constitution created 
a nation with a government constituted of three coordinate departments, 



274 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

the executive, judicial, and legislative, to each of which were assigned 
special functions. The officers attached to the seat of Government were 
subordinate appurtenances made necessary for the proper and complete 
evolution and execution of these functions. The transfer of the Govern- 
ment to its permanent seat must therefore have been a more imposing 
and dignified event than the travel and conveyance, overland and coast- 
wise, of the holders of the offices, with their packages and boxes of books, 
accounts, papers, and chattels, from a temporary to the permanent seat 
of the Government. The transfer of the Government was not complete 
until the departments were in actual and entire cooperation at the per- 
manent seat, which could not be accomplished before the assembling of 
Congress on the first Monday in December, 1800, the day fixed b3 r the 
initial act of July 16, 1790, at which time all the offices attached to the 
seat of the Government should cease to be exercised elsewhere. 



LOCATING THE CAPITAL. 1 



By Gaillard Hunt. 



The two measures which aroused the most heated discussion in the 
First Congress under the Constitution provided the one for the public 
credit and the other for a permanent seat of the Federal Government. 
The former took the shape of a bill, which Alexander Hamilton had 
drawn up, funding the Federal debt, and assuming the debts which the 
several States had contracted during the Revolutionary war. To the 
assumption of these debts, as they stood, there soon developed a bitter 
antagonism. It was based upon two chief arguments: First, that it was 
an invasion of State prerogatives for the General Government to levy 
taxes to pay debts which the States separately had contracted; and, 
second, that it was unfair that those States whose debts were not embar- 
rassing should be obliged to share the burdens of States whose debts 
were large. 

Among the Representatives most strongly opposed to the measure were 
Alexander White and Richard Bland Lee, both of Virginia. The debt of 
their State had been reduced, was funded at 6 per cent, and the interest 
was being regularly paid. That Virginia should share in the larger 
obligations of less cautious States was, therefore, thought to be a mani- 
fest injustice. As the debate on the measure proceeded, it assumed a 
threatening tone. L,ee said, if the General Government assumed the 
State debts due to individuals, the measure would be so evidently partial 
that he dreaded the consequences, and White declared ' ' it would lessen 
the influence of the States; they would be reduced to a degree lower 
than they should be, while, at the same time, the General Government 
would be elevated on their ruin." The assumption bill was defeated 
April 12, 1790, in committee of the whole, by a vote of 31 to 29, and in 
consequence the whole funding scheme was in danger of total collapse. 
This condition of affairs was followed by the most violent excitement, and 
although Congress met from day to day, the opposing factions could 
transact but little business together. 

It was more important that the public credit should be provided for 
than that the capital should be located in any particular spot, for upon 

■ From the Annnal Report of the American Historical Association for 1S95, pp. 
2S9- 295. 

275 



276 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

the former depended the financial standing of the new nation in the eyes 
of the world, while the latter was a measure of purely domestic concern. 
The two, however, had no connection with one another; yet, by a sys- 
tem since come to be known as "logrolling," they became involved. 
The Eastern members of Congress desired the passage of the assumption 
bill, but had no hope, for geographical reasons, of obtaining the capital. 
The members from the Middle States, on the other hand, were deter- 
mined, if possible, that the seat of the Federal Government should be 
permanently located either at Philadelphia or in that neighborhood. The 
two sections, therefore, effected a combination of their interests, and it was 
rendered only barely unsuccessful by the strenuous opposition of the 
South. But Virginia and Maryland conceived that they also had claims 
to the capital, and their respective legislatures had already taken steps 
to procure it. 

On December 27, 1788, before Congress had come together, the gen- 
eral assembly of Virginia passed resolutions offering 10 miles square of 
any portion of the State for the new Federal city which the Constitution 
provided for, and White laid these resolutions before the national House 
of Representatives May 15, 1789. On the following day Seney, of 
Maryland, offered a similar act from the legislature of his State. Mary- 
land and Virginia were not, however, in hostile rivalry in their efforts 
to obtain the Federal district. They contemplated its location on the 
banks of the Potomac, and calculated upon jointly profiting inconse- 
quence. On December 10, 1789, the general assembly of Virginia 
informed the general assembly of Maryland that it would advance 
$120,000 toward the erection of public buildings in the new Federal 
city, if it should be located on the Potomac, provided Maryland would 
advance three-fifths of that sum, and at the November session, 1790, the 
Maryland assembly appropriated $72,000 for the purpose. 

On December 3, 1789, the general assembly of Virginia passed an act 
reciting that the seat of the General Government should occupy a cen- 
tral location, "having regard as well to population, extent of territory, 
and a free navigation to the Atlantic Ocean, through the Chesapeake 
Bay, as to the most direct and ready communication with our fellow- 
citizens on the Western frontier. ' ' The banks of the Potomac, above 
tidewater, it was added, seemed to combine all these considerations, and, 
therefore, a location of 10 miles square or less in that region was offered. 

Lee had anticipated in Congress this action of the State by introduc- 
ing, on September 3, a resolution, "That a place, as nearby central as a 
convenient communication with the Atlantic Ocean and an easy access 
to the Western territory will permit, ought to be selected and established 
as the permanent seat of the Government of the United States." This 
was seconded by Daniel Carroll, of Maryland, and supported by James 
Madison, who contended, in the face of much opposition, that the Potomac 
River region answered the requirements more satisfactorily than any 



Locating the Capital. 277 

other place. A little later hee offered another resolution, coming out in 
terms for the banks of the Potomac. It soon became evident, however, 
that the combination, which was not strong enough to carry the assump- 
tion bill a few months later, was strong enough at this time to defeat the 
bill locating the capital in the South, for the House decided that the 
capital should be located on the banks of the Susquehanna River. The 
bill was sent to the Senate September 22, and came back September 26, 
with the location changed to Germantown, Pa., and this was accepted 
by the House with an unimportant amendment, which threw the bill 
back for further action by the Senate. There other business interposed, 
and it died when it was upon the very verge of final adoption. 

It was at this juncture that Jefferson gave his famous dinner party. 
He tells the story in his Anas: 

As I was going to the President's one day, I met him [Hamilton] in the street. 
He walked me backward and forward before the President' s door for half an hour. He 
painted pathetically the temper into which the Legislature had been wrought, the 
disgust of those who were called the creditor States, the danger of the secession of 
their members, and the separation of the States. He observed that the members 
of the Administration ought to act in concert; that though this question was not in 
my Department, yet a common duty should make it a common concern; that the 
President was the center on which all administrative questions ultimately rested, 
and that all of us should rally around him; and that, the question having been lost 
by a small majority only, it was probable that an appeal from me to the judgment 
and discretion of some of my friends might effect a change in the vote, and the 
machine of Government, now suspended, might be again set into motion. I told 
him that I was really a stranger to the whole subject; not having yet informed myself 
of the system of finances adopted, I knew not how far this was a necessary sequence; 
that undoubtedly, if its rejection endangered a dissolution of our Union at this 
incipient stage, I should deem that the most unfortunate of all consequences, to 
avert which all partial and temporary evils should be yielded. I proposed to him, 
however, to dine with me the next day, and I would invite another friend or two; 
bring them into conference together, and I thought it impossible that reasonable 
men, consulting together coolly, could fail, by some mutual sacrifices of opinion, to 
form a compromise which was to save the Union. 

The discussion took place. I could take no part in it but an exhortatory one, 
because I was a stranger to the circumstances which should govern it. But it was 
finally agreed that, whatever importance had been attached to the rejection of this 
proposition, the preservation of the Union and of concord among the States was 
more important, and that therefore it would be better that the vote of rejection 
should be rescinded, to effect which some members should change their votes. But 
it was observed that this pill would be peculiarly bitter to the Southern States, and 
that some concomitant measure should be adopted to sweeten it a little to them. 
There had before been propositions to fix the seat of government either at Philadel- 
phia or at Georgetown, on the Potomac, and it was thought that by giving it to 
Philadelphia for ten years, and to Georgetown permanently afterwards, this might, 
as an anodyne, calm in some degree the ferment which might be excited by the other 
measure also. So two of the Potomac members (White and Lee, but White with a 
revulsion of stomach almost convulsive) agreed to change their votes, and Hamilton 
undertook to carry the other point. In doing this, the influence he had established 
over the Eastern members, with the agency of Robert Morris with those of the Mid- 
dle States, effected his side of the engagement, and so the assumption was passed, 



278 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

and twenty millions of stock divided among favored States and thrown in as pabulum 
to the stock-jobbing herd. 

Hamilton performed his part of the bargain first. On July 9, 1790, by 
a v"ote of 32 yeas to 29 nays, the House passed the bill locating the capi- 
tal on the banks of the Potomac River, between the Eastern Branch and 
Conococheague Creek. It went through the Senate in due course, and 
was signed by the President a few days later. 

The final outcome did not give general satisfaction. The East and the 
South were generally in opposition on most subjects, and this was no 
exception to the rule, and the Middle States were only partially placated 
by the fact that Congress would sit at Philadelphia for ten years after 
leaving New York. Moreover, it was known that there had been a bar- 
gain, and this fact was freely condemned. Whether or not it was an 
immoral bargain is hard for us to decide. Hamilton's fears of disruption 
of the Union, unless the deadlock in the House was broken, were real, 
and had foundation in a dangerous situation, for the opening stage in the 
experiment of the new Government was not the time for straining its 
strength. White, and Carroll and Lee, who changed their votes against 
the assumption bill, did so probably with the honest desire of lessening the 
tension, but they received a quid pro quo for doing it. 

The dissatisfaction with the location found expression in much jeering, 
and a great deal of cheap humor was expended over the strange name 
Conococheague. Thus, a servant girl in New York is supposed to be 
writing to a friend, and says of her master: 

In fact, he would rather saw timber or dig, 
Than see them remove to Conococheague. 
Where the houses and kitchens are yet to be framed. 
■ The trees to be felled, and the streets to be named. 

Another, and even worse doggerel, represents Virginia as saying to 
Massachusetts: 

Ye grave, learned asses, so fond of molasses. 

You're fairly outwitted, you're fairly outwitted; 
With this Georgetown notion — oh. dear, what a potion! 

In the teeth you'll be twitted, in the teeth you'll be twitted. 

To which Massachusetts replies: 

The Union you'd sever for sake of your river, 

And give up assumption, and give up assumption; 

There's White, and there's Lee, and there's Maryland G., 

Wise men all of gumption, wise men all of gumption; 

Then there's Daniel Carroll, who looks like a barrel, 

Of Catholic faith, sir! of Catholic faith, sir! 

He swore he was true; but the bung, sir, it flew, 

And went off in a breath, sir! went off in a breath, sir! 

The Conococheague is a little creek draining Franklin County, Pa., and 
running through Washington Count}', Md. It reaches the Potomac at the 
village of Williamsport, fully 80 miles distant from the mouth of the 
Eastern Branch. Under the law, the President was free to make choice 
of any ten miles square between the two points, so that it is a fact beyond 



Locating the Capital. 279 

dispute that the responsibility, or credit, for the location of the city that 
bears his name rests wholly upon Washington. He seems never to have 
contemplated planting it near the Conococheague, but started his surveys 
at the extreme eastern boundary permitted by the law. In locating the 
city itself he hesitated between lands adjacent to Georgetown and those 
at the mouth of the Eastern Branch, but finally decided in favor of the 
former after a series of aggravating negotiations with the landowners. 
They held their property at exorbitant prices, and were finally brought 
to terms only after Washington had himself come upon the scene and 
opened negotiations with them personally. 

For the boundaries of the District the proclamation of January 24, 1791 , 
prescribed "four lines of experiment," beginning at Hunting Creek, on 
the Virginia shore, just below Alexandria, and embracing a portion of 
territory beyond the Eastern Branch, and consequently not included in 
the law. An additional act, remedying this difficulty, was passed March 
3, 1791. The later proclamation, defining the boundaries of the new 
District, was drafted by Jefferson, in his own hand, when he was in 
Georgetown. It was dated March 20, was read by Washington at Mount 
Vernon, all that had been inserted in it about the erection of public 
buildings was stricken out, and it was returned to be engrossed for the 
President's signature. It bore final date March 30, the great seal being 
affixed at Georgetown. 

The capital having been finally hatched out, the story of its growth is 
like nothing so much as the story of The Ugly Duckling. When it first 
peeped forth among the the family of cities, the whole flock cried out in 
disapproval. "What sort of a duck are you?" they said; "you are 
exceedingly ugly ! ' ' And they all flew out and ' ' bit him in the neck. ' ' 
The new city was absolutely without friends. John Melish, an English- 
man, who visited it early in the century, declared that he had traveled a 
good way into it before he saw it; that it had "more the appearance of 
a thickly-settled country than a city." The poet Moore called it: 

This famed metropolis, where fancy sees 
Squares in morasses, obelisks in trees. 

And John Randolph of Roanoke dubbed Pennsylvania avenue ' ' The 
great Serbonian bog. ' ' 

As the city grew apace it grew uglier. "The ducks pecked him, the 
chickens beat him, and the girl who fed the poultry kicked him with her 
feet." A Bostonian, in the elegant Atlantic Monthly, pronounced it, in 
1861, a "paradise of paradoxes, a great, little, splendid, mean, extrava- 
gant, poverty-stricken barrack for soldiers of fortune and votaries of 
folly;" and Emile Molezieux, in 1874, sa id it was a strange scattering of 
pompous monuments and very simple houses. An American woman 
said it was "the most disappointing, disheartening conglomerate that 
ever shocked the pride or patriotism of order-loving, beauty-worshiping 



280 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Exactly when this hard winter of abuse terminated is not of conse- 
quence, but it was not more than fifteen years ago. The change was 
sudden and its coming was foreseen by few, but it was unmistakable 
when it came. The ' ' ' ugly duckling ' felt the warm sun shining and 
heard the lark singing, and saw that all around was beautiful spring." 
He was recognized for the first time as a swan among cities, and now the 
cry has gone up that "the new one is the most beautiful of all." 

[Authorities: Herring's Statutes at Large of Virginia, Vols. XII and XIII; Annals 
of Congress, Vols. I and II; Writings of Thomas Jefferson (Ford), Vols. I and V; 
McMaster's History of the People of the United States; Travels in the United States, 
1S06-1811, by John Melish; The Atlantic Monthly; Souvenirs d'une Mission aux 
Etats-Unis d'Amerique, by Emile Molezieux; Laws of Maryland; The Washington 
Sketch Book, by "Viator" (J. B. Varnum, jr.); Johns Hopkins University Studies 
in Historical and Political Science, Third Series, XI-XII; The Magazine of American 
History; MS. proclamation and drafts, Department of State.] 



SKETCH OF THE VARIOUS FORMS OF LOCAL 
GOVERNMENT IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUM- 
BIA: WITH LIST OF WASHINGTON CITY 
OFFICIALS. 1 



By W. B. Bryan. 



A complete list of the members of the city councils and of the other 
principal officers of the local government of Washington City from its 
organization down to the present time does not exist. In the manu- 
script records of the city and in the printed collections of the laws of 
the" corporation and the proceedings of the legislative assembly may be 
found the names of those who have served the city either in legislative 
or executive capacities, but such records are not only deficient but they 
are not easily accessible, and complete collections of the acts of the city 
councils are few in number. Through the efforts of Mr. William Tin- 
dall, who has been the secretary of the Board of District Commissioners 
since the organization of that form of government, the entire number 
(iSo2-r87i) of the acts of the city councils may be found at the District 
office, and there is also another collection in the Library of Congress. 
I know of no other full sets in this city, and it is growing more difficult 
to get together these yearly annals of our city fathers during the period 
when Washington had a mayor, a board of aldermen, and a common 
council. 

They were published annually in pamphlet form, aud it appears that 
some years small editions were issued, and in consequence the acts of 
the councils for those years have now become very scarce. • In addition 
to the laws, lists of the names of the officers of the corporation were 
frequently printed, and during the later years it was the custom to add 
as an appendix the annual reports or statements of some of the city 
officers. From the manuscript records of the city government, as well 
as from the pamphlet editions of the ordinances, Mr. Andrew Rothwell, 
the compiler of one of the digests of the local laws which was published 
in 1833, gathered the names of the principal officers of the corporation, 
including those of the members of the city councils, and placed them in 
an appendix to the digest. 



1 Read before the Columbia Historical Society April 4, 1898. Printed as Senate 
Doc. 238, Fifty-fifth Congress, second session. Revised to date. 



282 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

The list contains the names of the first officers of the city and the 
members of the first council, who were appointed and chosen in the year 
1802, and also of each successive year down to 1833. This feature of 
the Rothwell Digest is rather conspicuous, for the reason that it was 
never attempted before and has not since been repeated. Although 
more than sixty-seven years have elapsed since the book came from the 
press, and mayors and. councils succeeded each other under the old 
corporate form of government for forty years, and two forms of gov- 
ernment have followed, yet it is impossible to learn the names of those 
who were actively identified with the municipal life of the city during 
that long period except by patient search through scattered records and 
books. 

It is true that a few years ago Mr. William Tindall prepared a useful 
handbook, giving information about the government of the District, 
including a list of the mayors and members of the legislative assembty 
under the Territorial form of government and the names of those who 
have served as District Commissioners. 1 Information of similar scope is 
printed in the almanac annually issued by the Evening Star, but in 
neither case are the names of the members of the cit}' councils included. 
I have thought, therefore, it would not only be of interest but of value 
to compile from the numerous sources a complete roster of the principal 
officers of the local government from its organization down to the pres- 
ent day, and of those who have served the city in the local legislative 
bodies. The list is appended. 

In this connection it seems appropriate to give a sketch, which will 
be in outline only, of the various forms of government Congress has 
bestowed upon the District. I do not propose at this time to discuss 
the larger phase of the subject, namely, the adaptability of these gov- 
ernmental agencies to the needs of the community and the success of 
each in attaining the objects sought for in establishing a government 
for a city. These forms of local government have neither been numer- 
ous nor complicated. For the first sixt5'-nine } r ears of the city's life a 
mayoralty government existed here, of a type that in a general wa}- 
was not dissimilar to those which were established in other cities at 
that time. Succeeding this was a system which was based on that 
provided for the Territories of the United States, but which was mod- 
ified to meet local requirements, and this in turn gave place to the 
present form of government by commissioners. 

As is well known to all who have even a slight knowledge of the 
history of the District, the Constitution of the United States gave to 
Congress the power to exercise exclusive legislation over such a dis- 
trict, not exceeding 10 miles square, that might by the cession of par- 
ticular States and the acceptance of Congress become the seat of 



■The District of Columbia, William Tiudall, 36 pp., Washington, D. C, 18S9. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 283 

government for the United States. The States of Virginia and Mary- 
land passed acts ceding to the General Government such land within 
their respective borders as might be chosen for such a purpose. By a 
bill which became a law January 16, 1790, and an amendatory act at a 
later date, this District was selected as a seat of government, then 
including, however, the town and county of Alexandria, which were 
ceded back to Virginia by Congress in 1846. 

It was further provided that the public offices should not be removed 
to the new location, nor Congress begin its sessions there, until the year 
i80t>, and that on the first Monday of September of that year the seat of 
government should, by a virtue of the act, be transferred to this District. 
Another section of the law provided that ' ' the operations of the laws of 
the States within such District shall not be affected by this acceptance 
until the time fixed for the removal of the Government thereto and 
until Congress shall otherwise by law provide. ' ' 

The act of cession adopted by the Virginia legislature stipulated that 
the jurisdiction of the laws of the State should not cease until Congress, 
having accepted the cession, should by law provide for the government. 
A similar provision was incorporated by the Maryland legislature in the 
law which was enacted December 19, 1 791, ratifying the cession. The 
absolute jurisdiction over the land included within the bounds of the 
new territory was, therefore, ceded by the two States, and such jurisdic- 
tion was accepted by the United States. Not only were existing laws 
of both States continued in operation within the new District, but the 
respective States enacted new laws with special reference to this locality 
and for the benefit of its citizens, "for," as it was expressed in the 
Maryland law, "many temporary provisions will be necessary till 
Congress exercise the jurisdiction and government over the said terri- 
tory." After the passage by Congress of the law of July 16, 1790, 
which accepted the cession of land, there was no other legislative action 
taken by that body relating to the District until some months after 
November 22, 1800, when the new locality was occupied as the capital 
city of the United States. 

It will probably not be considered that the real force of this statement 
is diminished by the fact that Congress in 1796, and again in 1798, passed 
laws authorizing a loan for the purpose of completing the buildings begun 
in the new city for the use of Congress and the Executive Departments, 
and again, in the spring of 1800, a law was passed while Congress was 
still in Philadelphia in regard to the removal of the public offices to the 
new city, and which, among other provisions, directed that footways be 
made in the city for the greater facility of communication between the 
various Departments and offices of the Government. In neither case, it 
must be admitted, was the local legislation either elaborate or important. 

In addition to endowing the new District with a body of laws which 
the inhabitants were living under as citizens of Maryland and Virginia, 



284 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Congress in accepting the territory authorized the President to appoint 
three commissioners to survey and define the bounds of the District. 
Authority was given to the commissioners to purchase or accept land 
on the eastern side of the river for the use of the United States and to 
provide suitable buildings for the accommodation of Congress, the Presi- 
dent, and for the public offices. No appropriation of money was made 
to enable the commissioners to carry out these instructions, but in lieu 
thereof, in the language of the act, "for the purpose of defraying the 
expense of such purchases and buildings the President of the United 
States be authorized and requested to accept grants of money." 

This was apparently looked upon as ample authority for the commis- 
sioners to prosecute the great work of founding in the wilderness, as it 
was termed, a city for the nation's capital. At any rate, there was no 
further legislation on the part of Congress in relation to the District 
for more than ten years ensuing. The legislatures of Maryland and 
Virginia, however, as stated, did not neglect the District, and from 
each legislative body during that period emanated a number of laws 
enacted with special reference to the needs of the District. These 
bodies were, so to speak, the first legislature of the District, and as in 
the days of the humble beginnings of the nation's capital, such a plenti- 
tude of legislative wisdom was furnished as might be found not merely 
in the legislature of one State, but of two, it ought not, perhaps, be 
regarded as surprising that now in these later days of the prosperity and 
power of the capital city Congress should seem to look upon all other 
lawmaking agencies as incompetent for the task of managing the affairs 
of this city and to have taken upon itself the government. 

When Maryland ratified the cession of the land to the United States 
by an act which was passed a few months after its acceptance by the 
General Government, sections were inserted for the purpose of facilitat- 
ing the conveyance of land in the new city, so as, for example, to permit 
the transfer of the property of minors and others under the agreement 
made between certain property holders of the land included within the 
bounds of the city and the commissioners of the city; also to permit 
foreigners to own real estate in the District. The law also established 
what was practically the forerunner of the office of the recorder of deeds 
of the District, by authorizing the city commissioners to appoint a 
clerk for recording deeds of lands, and this clerk was required to deliver 
to the commissioners, or their successors, or such person or persons as 
Congress shall appoint, all books in his possession. 

He was allowed the same fee for recording land transfers as those 
allowed clerks of count)' courts. The same Maryland law also provided 
a lien law for the District, and its intent, as is that of the existing law, 
was to secure builders against loss for labor and material. 

The law also conferred upon the commissioners of the city certain 
powers, which they were to exercise until Congress should assume the 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 285 

jurisdiction and government in the District. The}' were given the right, 
for example, to license the building of wharves; to make building regu- 
lations, with proper penalties for violations, to be recovered by action 
before a justice of the peace and disposed of as a donation for the benefit 
of the city. The commissioners were also authorized to " grant licenses 
for retailing distilled spirits" within the limits of the city, but not " in 
less quantity than 10 gallons to the same person." 

By other laws, which the Maryland legislature continued to enact 
until after the year 1798, authority was given to individuals named to 
erect a bridge over the Potomac, and one over the Eastern Branch, to 
establish a bank and an insurance company, and to give authority for 
making an addition to Georgetown. 

The legislature of Virginia was not quite so prolific in District legisla- 
tion during this period as her sister State, but this is readily explained 
by the fact that the conditions in the new city, which was located in 
the Maryland portion of the District, called for most of the new legisla- 
tion. Among these, as illustrating the extent to which minor details of 
District needs were considered by the Virginia legislators, and the same 
is shown by the enactments of the Maryland legislature, bills were 
passed for regulating streets in Alexandria and for extending the limits 
of that town; for increasing the capital stock of the bank of Alexan- 
dria, and for the purpose of incorporating a marine insurance company 
and a library company, both for Alexandria. 

In addition to the legislative interest manifested in the District dur- 
ing this period of ten years by both the Virginia and Maryland legisla- 
tures, the territory included within the bounds of the ten-mile square 
was not without local government. Georgetown had a corporate gov- 
ernment, and so had Alexandria. The governing body in the territory 
lying east of the river and outside of the limits of Georgetown, includ- 
ing the site of the city, was what was known as the levy court. As the 
existence of this agency for the management of local public affairs, at 
least in the county of Washington, continued down to the period of the 
establishment of the Territorial form of government in the District, and 
is, therefore, within the recollection of a large proportion of the citi- 
zens, a brief sketch of this court, as it existed from the foundation of 
the District, will not be out of place. 

As constituted by the Maryland laws the levy court was composed of 
seven members, selected by the governor of the State, with the advice 
of the council, from those annually commissioned as justices of the 
peace. The function of the court was to assess property, collect the 
taxes, look after repairs to roads and the construction and repair of 
county public buildings, take care of bridges, make allowances for the 
support of the poor, appoint constables, overseers, etc. The appoint- 
ment of the members of the court was vested by the law of February 
27, 1801, in the President of the United States, and, by what was called 



286 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

the charter of the city of 1848, the President was authorized by Con- 
gress to increase the membership of the court from seven to eleven, by 
the appointment of four members to represent the city of Washington. 
An elaborate act of Congress became a law March 3, 1863, defining 
the powers and duties of the levy court. This law provided that the 
court should consist of nine members, appointed for a term of three 
years by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 
ate. Five were to be residents of the county, three of Washington, 
and one of Georgetown, and the court was thus constituted when its 
career was closed as above stated. 

In the territory west of the Potomac and lying outside the corporate 
limits of Alexandria a governmental agency existed that was somewhat 
similar to the levy court in the county of Washington, but the Virginia 
institution was more than a mere board of assessors. 

It was known as the county court and, like the levy court of Mary- 
land, was composed of the justices of the peace of the county. These 
officials were appointed by the governor of Virginia, with the advice of 
the privy council. The county court had judicial functions, and instead 
of making the assessment of property and superintending the use of 
public money thus raised, as was done by the levy court of Maryland, 
the county court of Alexandria County appointed commissioners to per- 
form those duties. The sheriff and coroner were also appointed by the 
court, and it heard all legal presentments, criminal prosecutions, suits 
in common law and in chancery when the amount involved was not 
more than $20. 

The States of Virginia and Maryland continued to exercise legislative 
jurisdiction in the District until more direct Federal control was assumed, 
than was provided by the act of January 16, 1790. The public offices 
.were opened in the new city June 15, 1800, and Congress, in accordance 
with a resolution passed at the former session, convened there the 22d of 
November in the year 1800. A few months later the National Legislature 
enacted a law in regard to the District, which was practically the first 
since 1790, and that was one providing a judicial system for the District. 
The law was approved the 27th of February, 1801, and it is held that 
from that time the National Government began the exercise of the power 
granted by the Constitution of exclusive legislation in the District occu- 
pied as the seat of government. * From that time down to the present 
all laws relating to the District have come from Congress and from no 
other source. 

By the provisions of the act of February 27, 1801, above referred to, 
the District was divided into two counties, one comprising all the part 
lying on the east side of the Potomac, to be known as Washington 
County, and the other to include all the portion on the west side of the 
river, to be known as Alexandria County. A circuit court was estab- 

'Van Ness v. Bank of United States, 13. Peters' Rep., 19. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 287 

lished and authority was given for the appointment of a United States 
marshal, a district attorney, a register of wills, a judge of the orphans' 
court; and, in addition, justices of the peace, to be appointed by the 
President. 

The law further provided that all indictments should be in the name 
of the United States. The clause in the law of 1790 continuing in force 
the laws of Maryland and Virginia was again repeated, and throughout 
the act constant reference is made of existing laws of these States, and 
it is stipulated that such laws are to remain in force. 

With this provision for the new territory Congress rested content for 
more than a year. The affairs of the new city, then chiefly relating to 
the management of the public property, were still under control of a board 
of commissioners consisting of three members, but by an act approved 
May 1, 1802, the board of commissioners was abolished and its duties 
transferred to a superintendent. Following closely upon this legislation 
came a measure which gave corporate existence to the community, 
termed in the act "the inhabitants of the city of Washington," and 
who, according to the census of 1800, numbered 3,210 souls. 

Adopting the division of the city into three wards made by the levy 
court, the act of May 3, 1802, further provided that the officers of the 
corporation should consist of a mayor, appointed annually by the Presi- 
dent of the United States, and a council of twelve members, elected 
annually by ballot. There was no limitation placed upon the President's 
choice of a person to fill the principal office in the corporation other than 
that he must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the city 
prior to his appointment. The length of time of residence was not speci- 
fied, but this provision might be looked upon as a very slight recognition 
of the principle of home rule. 

In the same indefinite manner it was stipulated that the members of 
the council must be residents of the city, but this uncertainty came to an 
end when the qualifications of those entitled to vote were enumerated. 
It was provided that the members of the city council should be elected 
by ballot on a general ticket by the male white inhabitants of full age 
who had resided twelve months in the city, and in addition there was 
inserted a property qualification which limited the right of suffrage to 
those who had paid taxes the year preceding the elections being held. 

A curious feature of the new city government was the requirement 
that the second chamber of five members should be chosen from ' ' the 
whole number of councilors, elected by their joint ballot." The powers 
of the corporation were specified in detail, and ranged from the impo- 
sition and collection of taxes to the regulating of chimney sweeps. The 
mayor had the veto power, but his adverse action could be overridden by 
three-fourths vote of both chambers of the city council. He had, per- 
haps, the more important power of appointing all officers under the 
corporation. 

H. Doc. 552 19 



288 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

This first city charter, as it has been frequeutly called, was to remain 
in force for two years from ' ' the passing thereof, and from thence to the 
end of the next Congress thereafter," but "no longer," as it was 
expressed in the act somewhat curtly. The two years had not expired 
when Congress, by an act which was approved February 24, 1804, 
extended the charter for fifteen years, with certain modifications. In 
the first place, the system of choosing the entire body of the city council 
on one ticket and subsequently making a division into two chambers by 
the action of the members was changed, and it was provided that the 
city council should consist of two chambers, each of which to be com- 
posed of nine members, to be chosen by distinct ballots. 

Some additions were made to the powers conferred upon the corpora- 
tion by the first charter, and among these were the right to license 
ordinaries or taverns, to restrain or prohibit tippling houses, and to pro- 
vide for the establishment and superintendence of public schools. The 
dignity of the corporation was asserted by a clause to the effect that the 
levy court should no longer have the power of imposing any tax on the 
inhabitants of the city of Washington. The corporation, however, as 
already shown, had been given the power to levy taxes when it was 
established. 

JSTo other change or addition was made in the form of government or 
in the rights and powers of the corporation. It may not be uninterest- 
ing to note in this connection that about this period Congress passed 
laws amending the charters of both Alexandria and Georgetown. By 
these instruments the right to vote was restricted to citizens who owned 
propert3'. The charter of Alexandria limited the franchise to those who 
had freehold estates, while that of Georgetown, like the charter of 
Washington, provided that citizens who paid taxes had the right to 
vote. In both cases the ma}'or was elected by the common council, and 
all corporation officers were appointed by the latter bodies. It will be 
seen that the elective franchise in Alexandria was strictly limited to the 
holders of real estate, while in Georgetown and Washington the privi- 
lege was broadened somewhat, so as to admit those who paid taxes 
on real or personal property, or on both. 

Eight years passed before Congress made any change in the corporate 
powers of the city, and then by an act approved Ma} 7 4, 18 12, the two 
bodies composing the city councils were designated for the first time as 
a board of aldermen and common council, instead of the first and second 
chambers. The membership was increased from nine in each to a bod} 7 
of twenty, chosen according to wards. The board of aldermen consisted 
of eight members, two from each ward and elected for two 5'ears, while 
the members of the common council were elected annually, three from 
each ward. In the case of the aldermen it was directed that they should 
be divided into classes, so that one-half could be elected each year. 
The elective franchise by this act was still confined to citizens who 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 289 

paid taxes. The eligibility of members of the city councils was further 
limited by new qualifications, so that it was necessary not merely to be 
a resident of the city, but a resident for a year, and, further, to be pos- 
sessed of a freehold estate. In the case of one ambitious to hold the 
office of mayor the law required that he should have been a resident of 
the city for two years immediately prior to the election, and be a bona 
fide owner of a freehold estate in the city. No one but an owner of real 
estate could aspire to the office of mayor or to a seat in either branch of 
the city council, but the right to vote for the members of the city coun- 
cil was still open to citizens who paid taxes, which meant, as stated, 
either taxes on real or personal property, or both. 

Perhaps the most important provision of the new law was the clause 
which gave to the city council the right to elect the mayor by joint bal- 
lot. Up to this time that official had been appointed hy the President 
of the United States. As under the first charter, the mayor was given 
the power by the new law to appoint all the city officers. According 
to the census of 18 10 the population of the city was 8,210. Up to the 
time of the passage of the act of 1812 the mayor had received no com- 
pensation for his services. The first mayor, Robert Brent, was con- 
tinued in the office by annual appointment of the President of the United 
States until June, 18 12, a period of ten years. 

Then the mayor was elected by the cit3' fathers, and shortly after- 
wards an ordinance was passed appropriating $400 to be paid as a salary 
to the man they had just elevated to the highest office in the city gov- 
ernment. The next council increased the mayor's salary to $500, and 
two years later an ordinance was enacted providing that each member 
of the board of aldermen and each member of the common council 
should receive $2 per day when attending the sessions of the council. 
Prior to this time the members of the city councils were not paid. It 
is not, therefore, surprising to learn that $1,460 was the entire appro- 
priation made for one year — 1806 — for the compensation of officers of 
the corporation, who were as follows: Treasurer, register, secretaries 
of the council, and clerks of the market. 

When the term of the act of incorporation of 1804, which was fifteen 
years, had expired, Congress passed another act, approved May 15, 1820. 
This was an elaborate measure, but, stripped of its details, what seems 
to be now, and no doubt was then, the most important feature was the 
clause which provided that the mayor should be elected by the persons 
qualified to vote for members of the city council instead of, as under the 
former law,, being chosen by the councils. The qualifications of those 
entitled to vote for members of the council and, consequently, under this 
act, for the mayor, were in part the same as specified in former laws, 
namely, free white male citizens "who shall have been assessed on the 
books of the corporation," for in the new act this requirement was 
repeated and in the same language, and, in addition thereto, was the 



290 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

clause, "and who shall have paid all taxes legally assessed and due on 
personal property when legally required to pay the same. ' ' 

These additional words were apparently inserted as a device for assist- 
ing the corporation to collect the personal tax by imposing a penalty of 
withholding the franchise in the event the tax was not paid. The right to 
vote was still limited strictly to those owning property, either real or per- 
sonal, or both, as each class of property was assessed \>y the corporation 
for taxable purposes. In this connection a pertinent inquiry arises as to 
what, if any, amount was fixed for the value of the personal property to 
be possessed by a citizen which would render him eligible as a voter. 

October 6, 1802, a few months after the city was incorporated, the 
councils passed an act providing for the levying and collection of taxes 
on real and personal property. Certain exemptions were made in per- 
sonal property, such as ' ' the crop and produce of the land in the hands 
of the person who produced the same, provisions necessary for the use 
and consumption of the person to whom the same shall belong and his 
family for the year, and plantation utensils. ' ' It was further stipulated 
that ' ' the tax on the working tools of mechanics and manufacturers 
employed in their respective occupations, wearing apparel, goods, and 
merchandise, and all homemade manufactures in the hands of the manu- 
facturers, all stills, all grain and tobacco be only laid in cases where the 
owners thereof are not otherwise assessed, and provided that the assess- 
ment in such cases shall not exceed the sum of $ 80. ' ' 

A law enacted by the city councils July 2, 1824, throws additional light 
on the question raised. It provided ' ' that when the personal property 
of any person shall not be valued to the sum of $100 or upward the 
name of such person shall not be returned on the said assessment list." 
Unless the name did appear on the list furnished the election commis- 
sioners by the city officials, then the person was not allowed to cast a 
vote in the municipal election. To what extent these requirements were 
restrictions on the franchise it is not in the province of this paper to 
inquire. It may, however, be stated that the rate of tax on real and 
personal property for the years from 1802 to 1807 was 25 cents per $ 100 
of assessed value, while for the period from 1808 to 1824 it was 50 cents, 
from 1825 to 1830 it was 56 cents, and in 1831 the rate had risen to 
75 cents. 1 In 1863 the rate was 75 cents, but from that time there was a 
gradual advance, and when the mayoralty form of government was abol- 
ished it had risen to $1.80. 

The wealth of the community may perhaps be indicated by the state- 
ment that as late as the year 1824, when the population of the city was 
about 15,000, the total annual amount due from the real and personal 
tax was less than $2 5, 000. 2 

'Laws of the Corporation of the City of Washington, Andrew Rothwell, 492 pp., 
Washington, D. C, 1833. 

- Report of the register of the city. Laws of the corporation passed by the twenty- 
third council, 1825. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 291 

Under the charter of 1820 all the officers of the corporation not elective 
were appointed by the mayor, with the advice and consent of the council. 
It was provided that any free white male person who had resided in the 
city for two years and who was a bona-fide owner of a freehold estate 
was eligible to be elected mayor, while the same qualification was 
required of members of the city councils, with the exception that a 
residence in the city of only one year prior to the election was required. 

Additions were made to the powers granted to the corporation, as no 
doubt Congress found that greater latitude was needed- .by a city gov- 
ernment expected to manage the affairs of 13,247 people, as the census 
of 1820 shows the city of Washington contained. This act, like all 
previous acts granting corporate powers to the city, imposed limitations, 
not only on the powers to be exercised by the corporation, but also fixed 
the time when the rights and privileges conferred should end. In the 
case of the charter of 1820 it was provided that it should continue 
in force for a term of twenty years and ' ' until Congress shall by law 
determine otherwise. ' ' 

Twenty-eight years passed before Congress determined otherwise, and 
during that period no marked changes were made in the organic act of 
the city, although the population had increased to upward of 35,000.' 
It was the longest period which Congress has ever allowed to elapse 
without making important modifications of the powers previously 
possessed by the corporation of the city of Washington. 

Congress, however, by an act approved August 23, 1842, provided for 
the c&y what was known as the Auxiliary Guard, a police force which 
did duty at night and supplemented the work of the police officers 
employed by the city, who served during the day. There was a captain, 
appointed by the mayor, and fifteen men, appointed by the captain. 
The entire expense for the first year was met by an appropriation from 
the United States Treasury. Subsequently, the salaries of the members 
of the force came from the same source. 

By the act approved May 17, 1848, the chartered rights of the city 
were essentially modified, and again the provision was repeated fixing a 
time when the charter should expire, which was also in this case twenty 
years, or until Congress should otherwise determine. This act remained 
in force, with some changes made by special laws from time to time, for 
a period of twenty-three years, when all municipal corporations within 
the District were abolished and a Territorial form of government was 
established. 

The act. of 1848, as its title declared, was to continue, alter, and 
amend the charter of Washington, and the act of 1820 and subsequent 
laws, supplemental or additional, which were in force up to May 14, 
1840, were declared to be continued. The distinctive feature of this 

1 Memorial of a committee of the corporation of Washington, Thirtieth Congress, 
first session, H. R. No. 73, April 26, 1848. 



292 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

new charter was the extension given to the right of suffrage. The color 
line was maintained, but the property qualification was greatly modified. 
Every white male citizen of the United States, a resident of the city for 
one year preceding the election, and who should have paid the school 
tax, which was $i per year, was entitled to vote. 

Adopting the feature of the charter of 1820, it was provided that taxes 
due on personal property must be paid before a person otherwise quali- 
fied was entitled to vote. It was not necessary for a citizen to be either 
an owner of real or personal property in order to vote at municipal elec- 
tions, but those owning personal property and assessed for it on the 
books of the corporation and failing to pay the tax were prohibited from 
exercising the right to vote. In addition to the mayor and the members 
of the council, the board of assessors, consisting of one member from 
each ward, the register, collector, and surveyor, were made for the first 
time elective officers. The powers of the corporation were enlarged, 
especially in relation to the levying and collection of taxes on personal 
and real property. No change was made in the qualifications of the 
members of the cit}' council. 

An important alteration in the charter of the city was effected by the 
law of January 8, 1867, which not only wiped out the distinction of color 
and all property qualifications of voters, but declared that every male 
person shall be entitled to the elective franchise in the District, whether 
he shall have paid a school tax or any other tax, the only exceptions 
being those convicted of a crime or offense, or where one had voluntarily 
given, in the words of the act, "aid and comfort to the rebels in the late 
rebellion." There was, however, a provision that a person to be a voter 
must be a born or naturalized citizen of the United States and must have 
resided in the District for a period of three years, and three months in 
the ward or election precinct in which he shall offer to vote, the latter 
provision being modified by the law of May 16, 1868, to a residence of 
fifteen days prior to the day of election, instead of three months. 

When the change in the form of government was made, in 1871, the 
right to the unqualified exercise of the elective franchise, as generally 
understood, had been available in the city of Washington for four years. 
Even under the law of 1867, however, only white male citizens, bona 
fide owners of freehold estates in the city, were eligible to the office of 
mayor, to seats in the city council, and to membership of the board of 
assessors. But by the law of May 16, 186S, the property qualifications 
for city officers was abolished, and by the act of March 18, 1869, the 
word "white," in its use in existing law as a limitation of the right of 
electors to hold an)' office in the city, was eliminated. 

The right of the mayor to appoint various city officers, with the consent 
of the council, was transferred by the law of May 16, 1868, to a joint con- 
vention of the city council, but this law was repealed the following year. 

In the early sixties Congress enacted two laws which curtailed the 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 293 

powers of the corporation. By the act of August 6, 1861, all police 
authority vested in the corporations of Washington and Georgetown and 
over the entire District was transferred and granted to a board of five 
members, appointed by the President of the United States, by and with 
the advice of the Senate. An appropriation was made by Congress to 
meet the expense not only of the board, but of the entire force. Annual 
reports were required to be made by the board to the Secretary of the 
Interior. 

By an act approved July 11, 1862, Congress authorized the appoint- 
ment by the Secretary of the Interior of a board of three trustees for the 
schools for colored children in the cities of Washington and Georgetown. 
All the powers that the trustees of the public schools in the cities named 
enjoyed were conferred on the board, and it was given charge of the 
proper proportion of the fund raised for school purposes. 

In leaving this period of the history of the city it will not be out of 
place to give some facts relative to the compensation paid the principal 
city officers at various times. For some ten or thirteen years after the 
city was incorporated, as already stated, neither the mayor nor the mem- 
bers of the city council received compensation, but, curiously enough, one 
of the first ordinances passed provided that when any member of either 
chamber was absent from any meeting he should pay for every day for 
such neglect a sum not exceeding $5; so that it appears that while the 
public paid nothing to the members for attending the meetings, the 
latter were obliged to pay something to the public when they did not 
attend. 

However, in the year 1S15 the compensation of the members of the 
city council was fixed at $2 per day, but in case of failure to attend, 
except, as it is quaintly worded in the old city ordinance, ' ' through sick- . 
ness or being 5 miles from the city," they were to pay as a penalty $2 
each day. Five years later the compensation was reduced to $1 per day, 
but the penalty for absence remained unchanged. In the year 1829, 
while the rate of compensation was $1 per day, it was stipulated that 
the entire amount paid to members of the board should not exceed $40 a 
year. 

The rate was increased in 1853 to $2 per day, but the entire compen- 
sation for each member was not to exceed $100 per year, and there was 
a forfeit for nonattendance of $2 for each meeting. In the year 1864 
members of the city council received $5 per day, and no more than $250 
per year was to be paid to each member. By an act passed in 1869, 
which was apparently the last on the subject, the pay was fixed at $600 
per year. 

As to the salary of the mayor, that started at $400 per year in 1812, 
and by 1820 it had been increased to $1,000 per year, in addition to fees 
which the mayor was entitled to receive as justice of the peace, and 
thirty years later the salary was $1,600. In the year 1863 the sum of 



294 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

$3,600 was paid annually to the mayor, and that was the salary received 
when the mayoralty form of the government was abolished. 

An act approved February 21, 187 1, established what is known as the 
Territorial form of government of the District of Columbia, this name 
being given because it resembled in its general features that provided 
for the Territories of the United States. The act repealed the charters 
of Washington and Georgetown and abolished the levy court, thus 
extinguishing all existing legislative authority in the District. A gov- 
ernment in place of these various governmental agencies known as the 
District of Columbia was established, under which name it was consti- 
tuted a bod}' corporate for municipal purposes, and was given authority to 
exercise all powers of a municipal corporation not inconsistent with the 
Constitution and laws of the United States and the provisions of the act. 

All property of the corporations of Washington and Georgetown and 
the county of Washington was vested in the government of the District 
of Columbia as their successor. The executive power was vested in 
a governor appointed for four years by the President of the United 
States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Presi- 
dent was also empowered to appoint the members of one branch of the 
legislative assembly, a secretar}' of the District, a board of public works, 
and a board of health, while the members of the other branch of the 
legislative assembly were to be elected by the people. The compensa- 
tion of officers appointed by the President, b5 - and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, was to be provided \>y the United States, and that 
of all other officers by the District. 

It was required that the governor be a citizen of and have residence in 
the District one year before his appointment, and that he should have 
the qualifications of those entitled to vote in the District. All male citi- 
zens of the United States residents of the District for twelve mouths 
prior to the election, except persons convicted, of crimes or mentally 
unsound, were entitled to vote. 

The legislative power was vested in the legislative assembly, consisting 
of a council and house of delegates. The former was composed of eleven 
members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, two of whom were residents of Georgetown and two of the 
county outside of the cities of Washington and Georgetown. The3 r were 
to have the qualifications of voters, and their appointments were to be 
for two years. The house of delegates, which was elected by the people, 
numbered twentj'-two members, who had the same qualifications as mem- 
bers of the council, and they served one year. The District was divided 
into eleven districts for the appointment of members of the council, and 
twenty-two districts for the election of delegates, so as to give, as the act 
stated, each section of the District representation according to popula- 
tion. The 'members of the two bodies were to reside in the districts 
from which they were elected or appointed, respectively. To the legis- 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 295 

lative assembly was given the power to provide for the election or 
appointment of all necessary officers. 

Provision was made for the creation by the legislative assembly of 
townships in the portions of the District outside of the corporate limits 
of Washington and Georgetown, but the township officers were to be 
elected by the people of the townships, respectively. # 

The concurrence of a majority of members of both houses was neces- 
sary in the passage of a bill. The governor had the veto power, but it 
could be overridden by a two-thirds vote of all the members of both 
houses. Various limitations in the powers of the legislative assembly 
were specified, and it was provided that the aggregate debt of the 
District should not be increased to exceed 5 per cent of the assessed 
property of the District unless a law authorizing the same be approved 
by the people at a general election. All acts of the legislative assembly 
were subject to a repeal or modification by Congress, and this clause was 
added: 

' ' Nothing herein shall be construed to deprive Congress of the power 
of legislation over the same District in as ample a manner as if the law 
had not been enacted. ' ' 

The legislative assembly was given authority to appoint justices of the 
peace and to pass laws modifying the practice of the judicial courts of 
the District, which were to remain as organized prior to the law, and to 
pass laws conferring upon the courts such additional jurisdiction as may 
be required in the enforcement of the law. The salary of the governor 
was fixed by the act at $3,000, and that of the secretary of the District 
at $2,000 per annum ; the compensation of the members of the legisla- 
tive assembly at $4 per day, when in attendance at the sessions, and the 
salaries of the members of the board of public works, to consist of four . 
persons, with the governor ex officio, was fixed at $2,500 each, annually. 
The members of the board who were appointed by the President, with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, were residents of the District, 
with the qualifications of voters, one appointed from Georgetown and 
one from the county. Their terms of office were four years, and to this 
board was given control of the improvements of the streets and other 
work intrusted to it by the legislative assembly, and under the super- 
vision of the assembly it was empowered to make building regulations. 
A board of health was provided for, to consist of five members, appointed 
by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The dele- 
gate to Congress, himself a qualified voter, was elected by voters qualified 
to elect members of the legislative assembly, and enjoyed the same rights 
and privileges as delegates from the Territories. 

The Territorial form of government was abolished by the act approved 
June 20, 1874, and the President was given authority, with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, to appoint a commission, composed of three 
persons selected from civil life. This was what was known as the 



296 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

temporary form of government by commissioners. All laws providing for 
an executive, secretary of the District of Columbia, legislative assembly, 
board of public works, and delegate in Congress were repealed, and the 
power and authority vested in the governor and board of public works 
was transferred to the commissioners. The compensation of each com- 
missioner was fixed at $5,000 a year, and a bond of $50,000 was required 
of each. 

The President was authorized to detail an officer of the Engineer Corps, 
United States Arm}', who, subject to the general supervision and direc- 
tion of the commissioners, was to perform the duties former^ performed 
by the chief engineer of the board of public works, and have charge of 
the repairs and improvements of the streets. The engineer officer was 
authorized to appoint three assistants from civil, life. 

The act provided that for the support of the government a tax be 
levied on all real estate except that owned by the United States, the 
rates to be $3 on every $100 of assessed value in the city of Washington, 
$2.50 in Georgetown, and outside of the two cities $2. Of the money 
thus collected one-fourth was to be paid to the United States on account 
of the advances paid by the General Government on the funded debt of 
the District, Washington, and Georgetown, the remainder for the defi- 
ciencies of the year ending June 30, 1874, and the balance to be distrib- 
uted according to the appropriation of the District legislature approved 
June 28, 1873. The law further provided for a joint select committee to 
prepare a suitable frame of government for the District, and also a state- 
ment as to the proper proportion of expenses of the District government, 
including interest on the funded debt which should be borne by the 
United States and the District, respectively. " 

The faith of the United States was pledged to pay the interest on the 
3.65 bonds by proper proportional appropriations and causing to be levied 
upon property such taxes as would provide for the interest and create a 
sinking fund for the payment of the principal. B3 7 this act Congress 
abolished all elective offices in the District, and with it necessarily the 
exercise of the elective franchise, and assumed the government of the 
District, with the Commissioners acting in an executive capacity, to carry 
out the laws enacted by the National Legislature for the District. 

Four years later, by act of June 11, 1878, what was known as the per- 
manent form of government by the Commissioners for the District was 
established, and is, with some changes, the government that is in exist- 
ence to-day. The Board of Commissioners, consisting of three persons, 
was continued, with the same powers, rights, duties, and privileges of 
the board under the temporary form of government. Two of the mem- 
bers of the board are appointed by the President from civil life, and it is 
required that they shall be citizens of the United States and at the time 
of their appointment shall have been actual residents of the District for 
three years next before their appointment and during that period having 
claimed residence nowhere else. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 297 

The third Commissioner is an officer detailed by the President from 
among the captains or officers of higher grade, having served at least 
fifteen years in the Corps of Engineers, United States Army. Authority 
is also given for the detail of three army engineer officers of junior rank 
to the Engineer Commissioner as his assistants. All the Commissioners 
receive a salary of $5,000 per year and the civil Commissioners each give 
a bond of $50,000 and are appointed for three years. 

The law provides that the Commissioners in the exercise of their 
powers and duties shall make no contract or incur any other obligation 
other than such contracts and obligations as are provided and approved 
by Congress. The} 7 are given power to appoint the officers of the Dis- 
trict government, and are required annually to submit to the Secretary 
of the Treasury an itemized statement of the amount necessary to defray 
the expenses of the government. The Secretary of the Treasury is 
authorized to approve or disapprove or make changes in the estimates 
and then submit the statement of the amount approved by him to 
Congress. 

' ' To the extent, ' ' the law stipulates, ' ' to which Congress shall approve 
of such estimate, Congress shall appropriate the amount of 50 per centum 
thereof." The rate of taxation is not to exceed $1.50 on every $100 of 
assessed value of real property and $1.50 on personal property, and on 
agricultural land the rate is not to exceed $1. All taxes are paid into 
the United States Treasury, and the accounts of the Commissioners, the 
tax collector, and all other officers required to account are settled by the 
accounting officers of the Treasury Department. 

The Secretary of the Treasury pays the interest on the 3.65 bonds, 
which is credited as part of the appropriation for the year by the United 
States toward the expenses of the District. The Commissioners are 
required to report annually to Congress, and it is forbidden to increase 
the present amount of the total indebtedness of the District of Columbia. 

It seems appropriate to close this sketch of the several forms of gov- 
ernment provided for the District of Columbia with the comments of the 
United States Supreme Court on the law of 1878 in a decision ' rendered 
some eight years ago. They are as follows : 

The court below placed its decision on what we conceive to be the true significance 
of the act of 1878. As said by that court, it is to be regarded as an organic act, 
intended to dispose of the whole question of a government for this District. It is, 
as it were, a constitution of the District It is declared by its title to be an act to 
provide a permanent form of government for the District. The word permanent is 
suggestive. It implies that prior systems had been temporary and provisional. As 
permanent it is complete in itself. It is the system of government. The powers 
which are conferred are organic powers. We look to the act itself for their extent 
and limitations. It is not one act in a series of legislation and to be made to fit into 
the provisions of the prior legislation, but is a single complete act, the outcome of 
previous experiments, and the final judgment of Congress as to the system of a gov- 
ernment which should obtain. 

1 Eckloff v. The District of Columbia, United States Supreme Court, April 28, 1890. 



298 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



PRINCIPAL OFFICERS OF THE CITY OF WASHINGTON FROM THE 
YEAR 1802 TO THE YEAR 1898. 1 

First Council. — Ejected 1802. 

Mayor. — Robert Brent. Register. — Thomas Herty. 

Treasurer. — Washington Boyd. 

First chamber. — James Barry, president; George Blagden, Nicholas King, William 
Brent, A. B. Woodward, Samuel H. Smith, Thomas Peter; Thomas Herty, secretarj'. 

Second chamber. — Daniel Carroll, of Duddington, president; Benjamin Moore, Wil- 
liam Prout, James Hoban, John Hewitt; James Hewitt, secretar}'. 

Second Council. — 1803. 

Mayor. — Robert Brent. Register. — Thomas Herty. 

Treasurer. — Washington Boyd. 

First chamber. — John P. Van Ness, president; William Brent, John Hewitt, Samuel 
H. Smith, Charles Minifie, Daniel Rapine, Joseph Hodgson; Thomas Herty, secretary. 

Second chamber. — Daniel Carroll, of Duddington, president; Nicholas King, Benja- 
min Moore, Joel Brown, George Hadfield; John Gardiner, secretary. 

Third Councii,. — 1804. 

Mayor. — Robert Brent. Register. — Thomas Herty. 

Treasurer. — Washington Boyd. 

First chamber. — Samuel H. Smith, president; George Blagden, Samuel N. Small- 
wood, Joseph Bromley, Henry Herford, Daniel Rapine, Robert Alexander, Thomas 
Carpenter, Peter Lenox ; John Gardiner, secretary. 

Second chamber. — Nicholas King, president; William Brent, William Woodward, 
Alexander McCormick, Charles Jones, James C. King, Joseph Hodgson, John Sinclair, 
George Andrews; Thomas Herty, secretary. 

Fourth Councii,. — 1805. 

Mayor. — Robert Brent. Register. — Thomas Herty. 

Treasurer. — Washington Boyd. 

First chamber. — John Dempsie, president; Charles Minifie, George Collard, Wil- 
liam Prout, Joseph Bromley, Alexander McCormick, William Emack, John 
McGowan; John Gardiner, secretary. 

Second chamber. — Samuel Hamilton, president; John Beckley, Griffith Coombe, 
Robert Cherry, Peter Miller, Azariah Gatton, Nicholas Voss, Phineas Bradley, 
Michael Nourse; N. B. Van Zandt, secretary. 

Fifth Councii,. — 1806. 

Mayor.— Robert Brent. Register. —Thomas Herty. 

Treasurer.^-W ASHmGTON Boyd. 

First chamber. — John Dempsie, president; Samuel N. Smallwood, Samuel H. 
Smith, Frederick Ma}', Thomas H. Gilliss, James Hoban, Robert Alexander, Jere- 
miah Booth, William Prout; John Gardiner, secretary. 

Second chamber. — Nicholas King, president; Alexander McCormick, Peter Lenox, 
Henry Ingle, Matthew Wright, Phineas Bradley, Joseph Bromley, John St. Clair, 
Henry Herford; Henry Johnson, secretary. 

1 The author states that the names in this list of officers have been correctly tran- 
scribed from the records, although apparently the same names are spelled differently 
in different places, while others are perhaps incorrectly spelled. — Editor. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 299 

Sixth Council.— 1807. 

Mayor— Robert Brent. Register.— Thomas Herty. 

Treasurer.— Washington Boyd. 

First chamber.— Frederick May, president; Jeremiah Booth, John Dempsie, Gus- 
tavus Higdon, E. B. Caldwell, James S. Stevenson, John McGowan, Phineas Bradley, 
Charles W. Goldsborough; John Gardiner, secretary. 

Second chamber.— Charles Minifie, president; Samuel Eliott, Alexander McWil- 
liams, Henry Ingle, Alexander McCormick, Matthew Wright, Joseph Bromley, Peter 
Lenox, Richard Forrest; Henry Johnson, secretary. 

Seventh Council. — 1808. 

Mayor. —Robert Brent. Register— Thomas Herty. 

Treasurer.— Henry Whetcroft. 

First chamber— George Andrews, president; Charles W. Goldsborough, Charles 

Jones, John McGowan, James Young, Patterson, Stephen Pleasanton, Peter 

Lenox , Thorpe; John Gardiner, secretary. 

Second chamber.— E. B. Caldwell, president; Buller Cocke, John Dempsie, Richard 

Forrest, James Hoban, Philip Mauro, Daniel Rapine, Joseph Stretch, Clarke; 

Henry Johnson, secretary. 

Eighth Council. — 1809. 

YMyw-.-RoBERT Brent. Register.— Thomas Herty. 

Treasurer.— Henry Whetcroft. 

First chamber. — Samuel N. Smallwood, president; William Prout, Adam Lindsay, 
Joseph Parsons, John Law, Alexander McCormick, Joseph Cassin, John McClelland, 
James Hoban; William Hewitt, secretary. 

Second chamber.— Daniel Rapine, president; John Dobbin, Nicholas L. Queen, 
Elexius Middleton, A. Kerr, James S. Stevenson, Gustavus Higdon, Tunis Craven, 
Phineas Bradley; Henry Johnson, secretary. 

Ninth Council. — 1S10. 

Mayor.— R-oviXi Brent. Register.— William Hewitt. 

Treasurer.— Henry Whetcroft. 

First chamber.— Phineas Bradley, president; Charles Jones, James Hoban, John 
Davidson, John Graham, Walter Hellen, James H. Blake, Samuel N. Smallwood; 
William Hewitt, secretary. 

Second chamber.— Nicholas King, president; Henry Herford, Peter Lenox, George 
Andrews, Toppan Webster, John McGowan, James Birth, Peter Hagner, William 
James; Christopher Andrews, secretary. 

1811. 

By reason of informality in the election no council was recognized. The officers 
of the preceding year continued to act. 

Tenth Council.— 1S12. 

Mayor.— TiAmsh Rapine. Register.— William Hewitt. 

Treasurer.— Henry Whetcroft. 

Aldermen— Alexander McCormick, president; John Davidson, James Hoban, 
Peter Lenox, Andrew Way, jr., Nicholas L. Queen, Joseph Cassin, John Davis, of 
Abel; William Hewitt, secretary. 



300 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Common council. — George Blagden, president; William Worthington, Toppan 
Webster, William P. Gardiner, James Hewitt, Roger C. Weightman, Thomas H. 
Gilliss, Edmund Law, Elexius Middleton, Matthew Wright, John Dobbyn, John W. 
Brashears; Pontius D. Stelle, secretary. 

Eleventh Council. — 1S13. 

Mayor.— James H. Blake. Register.— William Hewitt. 

Treasurer. — Henry Whetcroft. 

* Aldermen. — Alexander McCormick, president; James Hoban, William Waters, 
Peter Lenox, James Hewitt, William Emack, Joseph Cassin, John Davis, of Abel; 
William Hewitt, secretary. 

Common council. — Roger C. Weightman, president; William Worthington, Richard 
S. Briscoe, John Graham, Charles Glover, Thomas H. Gilliss, Edmund Law, Elexius 
Middleton, Thomas Howard, Shadrach Davis, Thomas Haliday, George McCauley; 
Pontius D. Stelle, secretary. 

Tweleth Council. — 1S14. 

Mayor. — James H. Blake. Register.— William Hewitt. 

Treasurer. —Henry Whetcroft. 

Aldermen . — Alexander McCormick, president; William Waters, Toppan Webster, 
George Way, Joseph Gales, jr., William Emack, Joseph Cassin, Matthew Wright; 
William Hewitt, secretary. 

Common council. — Roger C. Weightman, president; William Worthington, Richard 
S. Briscoe, William Knowles, Charles Glover, James M. Varnum, Edmund Law, 
Thomas Howard, William H. Lyles, Shadrach Davis, George McCauley, Buller 
Cocke; Pontius D. Stelle, secretary. 

Thirteenth Council. — 1815. 

Mayor. — James H. Blake. Treasurer. — Henry Whetcroft. 

Register. — William Hewitt. Surveyor. — Benj. H. Latrobe. 

Aldermen. — Joseph Gales, jr., president; Toppan Webster, Richard S. Briscoe, 
George Way, Alexander McCormick, John G. McDonald, Matthew Wright, Joseph 
Cassin; William Hewitt, secretary. 

Common council. — Roger C. Weightman, president; William Worthington, James 
Thompson, Joseph Mecklin, Charles Glover, Christopher Andrews, Samuel Burch, 
James Young, Thomas Dunn, Thomas Haliday, Shadrach Davis, Israel Little; Pon- 
tius D. Stelle, secretary. 

Fourteenth Council.— 1816. 

Mayor. — James H. Blake. Treasurer. — Henry Whetcroft. 

Register. — William Hewitt. Surveyor.— Joseph Elgar. 

Aldermen. — Toppan Webster, president; Richard S. Briscoe, George Way, John 
A. Wilson, Alexander McCormick, John G. McDonald, Matthew Wright, Joseph 
Cassin; William Hewitt, secretary. 

Common council. — Samuel Burch, president; William Worthington, John D. Bar- 
clay, William O'Neale, Charles Glover, Christopher Andrews, James M. Varnum, 
James Young, Thomas Dunn, Thomas Haliday, Israel Little, Daniel Kealy; Pontius 
D. Stelle, secretary. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 301 

Fifteenth Council.— 1S17. 

Mayor. — Benjamin G. Orr. Treasurer. — Henry Whetcroft. 

Register. — William Hewitt. Surveyor. — Joseph Elgar. 

Aldermen. — Toppan Webster, president; Joseph Forrest, Christopher Andrews, 
Thomas H. Gilliss, Alexander McCormick, John G. McDonald, Joseph Cassin, 
Matthew Wright; William Hewitt, secretary. 

Common council. — Samuel Burch, president; John N. Moulder, William O'Neale, 
Thomas Sandiford, jr., Charles Glover, James M. Varnum, George Sweeney, James 
Young, George Watterston, Israel Little, John Crabb, Thomas Haliday; Pontius D. 
Stelle, secretary. 

Sixteenth Council.— 1S1S. 

Mayor. — Benjamin G. Orr. Treasurer. — Henry Whetcroft. 

Register.— William Hewitt. Surveyor.— Joseph Elgar. 

Aldermen. — Alexander McCormick, president; James H. Handy, Joseph Forrest, 
Christopher Andrews, Thomas H. Gilliss, John G. McDonald, Joseph Cassin, Samuel 
Miller; William Hewitt, secretary. 

Common council. — George Sweeney, president; John N. Moulder, George McDaniel, 
William O'Neale, James M. Varnum, Enoch Reynolds, James Young, John Chalmers, 
Henry Tims, Israel Little, John B. Forrest, Thomas Reynolds; Pontius D. Stelle, 
secretary. 

Seventeenth Council. — 1819. 

Mayor. — Samuel N. Smallwood. Register.— William Hewitt. 

Surveyor. — Joseph Elgar. 

Aldermen. — William W. Seaton, president; John N. Moulder, James H. Handy, 
Christopher Andrews, Nicholas L. Queen, Alexander McCormick, Israel Little, 
Samuel Miller; William Hewitt, secretary. 

Common council. — George Sweeney, president; Saterlee Clark, Thomas Carbery, 
William O'Neale, Enoch Reynolds, John McClelland, Henry Tims, James D. Barry, 
John Chalmers, Edward W. Clarke, Adam Lindsay, Gustavus Higdon; Thomas L. 
Noyes, secretary. 

Eighteenth Council.— 1820. 

Mayor.— Samuel N. Smallwood. Register.— William Hewitt. 

Surveyor.— Joseph Elgar. 

Aldermen. — William W. Seaton, president; James H. Handy, Charles W. Golds- 
borough, James Hoban, Thomas H. Gilliss, Roger C. Weightman, Nicholas L. Queen, 
Henry Tims, Daniel Carroll of Duddington, Thomas Dougherty, Israel Little, William 
Prout; George Gilliss, secretary. 

Common council. — Samuel Burch, president; Saterlee Clarke, Thomas Carbery, 
Josias Taylor, John McClelland, Henry Smith, John Strother, Hanson Gassaway, 
George Sweeney, Andrew Hunter, John P. Ingle, Benjamin Burch, Richmond John- 
ston, James Middleton, Barton Milstead, Adam Lindsay, Gustavus Higgdon, Solomon 
Groves; Thomas L. Noyes, secretary. 

Nineteenth Council. — 1S21. 

Mayor. — Samuel N. Smallwood. Register. — William Hewitt. 

Surveyor.— -F. C. De Krafft. 

Aldermen. — William W. Seaton, president; Charles W. Goldsborough, James H. 
Handy, James Hoban, Thomas H. Gilliss, Roger C. Weightman, Henry Tims, Ben- 
jamin Burch, George Blagden, James Middleton, Israel Little, William Prout; 
Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 



302 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Common council. — George Watterston, president; James Thompson, Henry M. 
Steiner, William P. Gardner, John McClelland, Hesekiah Langley, David M. For- 
rest, Timothy P. Andrews, George Sweeney, Benjamin M. Belt, Andrew Hunter, 
John Pic, William R.Maddox, Edward Mattingly, Clement Boswell, Adam Lindsay, 
Solomon Groves, John Nowland; Thomas L. Noyes, secretary. 

Twentieth Council. — 1822. 

Mayor. — Thomas Carbery. Register. — William Hewitt. 

Surveyor. — F. C. De Krafft. 

Aldermen. — William W. Seaton, president; Henry M. Steiner, Charles W. Golds- 
borough, John A. Wilson, James Hoban, Roger C. Weightman, William A. Bradley, 
Benjamin Burch, George Blagden, James Middleton, Edward W. Clarke, Israel Lit- 
tle; E. J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — George Watterston, president; Alexander Mclntyre, William P. 
Gardner, James Gaither, Henry Ashton, Henry Smith, Francis Coyle, Peter Force, 
Walter Clarke, Nathan Smith, John Pic, Elias B. Caldwell, Griffith Coombe, Edward 
S. Lewis, Clement Boswell, Adam Lindsay, Philemon Moss, John Nowland; Thomas 
L. Noyes, secretary. 

Twenty-first Council. — 1823. 

Mayor. — Thomas Carberry. Register. — William Hewitt. 

Surveyor. — F. C. De Krafft. 

Aldermen. — William W. Seaton, president; Charles W. Goldsborough, Henry M. 
Steiner, John A. Wilson, James Hoban, Roger C. Weightman, James Young, Benja- 
min Sprigg, James Middleton, George Blagden, Israel Little, Edward W. Clarke; 
E. J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Peter Force, president; Alexander Mclntyre, James Gaither, 
William P. Gardner, Henry Ashton, Henry Smith, Henry M. Morfit, William Hunt, 
Charles Glover, John Pic, William J. McCormick, William Ingle, Griffith Coombe, 
Edward S. Lewis, Clement Boswell, Adam Lindsay, James Friend, Solomon Groves; 
Thomas L. Noyes, secretary. 

Twenty-second Council. — 1824. 

Mayor. — Roger C. Weightman. Surveyor.— F. C. De Krafft. 

Register. — William Hewitt. Attorney.— Richard Wallach. 

Aldermen.— William W. Seaton, president; Henry M. Steiner, Charles W. Golds- 
borough, John A. Wilson, James Hoban, Charles Glover, George Watterston, James 
Young, George Blagden, James Middleton, Edward W. Clarke, Israel Little; E. J. 
Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Peter Force, president; Alexander Mclntyre, Richard S. Briscoe, 
Benjamin Harrison, Henry Smith, Henry M. Morfit, Cornelius McLean, William 
Hunt, Edward de Krafft, John Pic, William J. McCormick, William Ingle, Griffith 
Coombe, Edward S. Lewis, George W. Dawson, Adam Lindsay, James Friend, 
Gustavus Higdon; Thomas L. Noyes, secretary. 

Twenty-third Council. — 1S25. 

Mayor. — Roger C. Weightman. Surveyor.— F. C. de Krafft. 

Register.— William Hewitt. Attorney.— Richard Wallach. 

Aldermen.— William W. Seaton, president; Thomas Wilson, John N. Moulder, 
James Hoban, John A. Wilson, Charles Glover, James Young, George Watterston, 
Griffith Coombe, George Blagden, Israel Little, Edward W. Clarke; E. J. Middle- 
ton, secretary. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 303 

Common council. —Alexander Mclntyre, president; Richard S. Briscoe, Matthew 
Hines, Henry Smith, William Jones, Cornelius McLean, William Gunton, William 
Hunt, Samuel Burch, William J. McCormick, B. O. Tyler, Edmund Law, Clement 
Boswell, Edward S. Lewis, George W. Dawson, John Pic, James Friend, Edward 
Simms; Thomas L. Noyes, secretary. 

Twenty-fourth Council. — 1S26. 

Mayor.- -Roger C. WeiGhTman. Surveyor— F '. C De Krafft. 

Register.— William Hewitt. Attorney. -Richard Wallach. 

Aldermen.— W. W. Seaton, president; Thomas Wilson, John N. Moulder, Peter 
Lenox, James Hoban, Peter Force, George Watterston, James Young, Edward S. 
Lewis, Griffith Coombe, Edward W. Clarke, Israel Little; E. J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common co unci!. — Christopher Andrews, president; Alexander Mclntyre, Richard 
S. Briscoe, Matthew Hines, James Larned, William Duncan, William Gunton, William 
Hunt, Samuel Burch, William J. McCormick, John Coyle, jr., William H. Gunnell, 
Clement Boswell, Clement T. Coote, James Carbery, James Friend, Jonathan Prout, 
Adam Lindsay; John D. Emack, secretary. 

Twenty-fifth Council. — 1S27. 

Mayor.— lass Gales, Jr. Surveyor— -F. C De Krafft. 

Register.— William Hewitt. Attorney.— Richard Wallach. 

Aldermen.— W. W. Seaton, president; Richard S. Briscoe, Thomas Wilson, Christo- 
pher Andrews, Peter Lenox, Peter Force, James Young, George Watterston, Clement 
T. Coote, Edward S. Lewis, Andrew Forrest, Edward W. Clarke; E. J. Midd'leton, 
secretar}'. 

Common council.— A. Mclntyre, president; Jonn Wells, jr., James H. Handy, Wil- 
liam Duncan, James Larned, Henry Smith, William Hunt, Andrew Coyle, William 
Gunton, John Coyle, jr., B. O. Tyler, William J. McCormick, Peter G. Washington, 
James Carbery, Nathaniel Brady, James Friend, Charles Venable, Adam Lindsay; 
Richard Barry, secretary. 

Twenty-sixth Council. — 1S28. 

Mayor.— Joseph Gales, Jr. Surveyor— F. C. De Krafft. 

Register.— William Hewitt. Attorney.— Richard Wallach. 

Aldermen .— W. W. Seaton, president; John Wells, jr., Richard S. Briscoe, Peter 
Lenox, Christopher Andrews, Peter Force, James Young, George Watterston, Edward 
S. Lewis, Clement T. Coote, Edward W. Clarke, Andrew Forrest; E. J. Middleton, 
secretary. 

Common couiuil.— Alexander Mclntyre, president; RobertLeckie, JamesH. Handy, 
William Duncan, Lewis H. Machen, George Crandell, William Gunton, Andrew 
Coyle, Phillip Mauro, William Brent, Frederick May, John Coyle, jr., Clement Bos- 
well, Edmund Law, David Butler, jr., Charles Venable, Adam Lindsay, Samuel 
Hilton; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Twenty-seventh Council. —1829. 

Mayor.— Joseph Gales, Jr. Surveyor.— F. C. De Krafft. 

Register.— William Hewitt. Attorney.— Richard Wallach. 

Aldermen.— W. W. Seaton, president; John P. Van Ness, John Wells, jr., John A. 
Wilson, Peter Lenox, Peter Force, James Young, George Watterston, Clement T. 
Coote, John Rodgers, Andrew Forrest, Edward W. Clarke; E. J. Middleton, secretary. 
H. Doc 552 20 



304 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Common council. — Alexander Mclntyre, president; Thomas Sim, Nathaniel Frye, 
jr., George Crandell, William Duncan, Lewis H. Machen, George Sweeney, Phillip 
Mauro, William Gunton, William Brent, Frederick May, John Coyle, jr. , Peter G. 
Washington, John Carothers, James Carbery, Charles Venable, Adam Lindsay, James 
Marshall; Richard Barn-, secretary. 

Twenty-eighth Council. — 1S30. 

Mayor. — John P. Van Ness. Surveyor. — F. C. De Krafft. 

Register.— Wiixiam. Hewitt. Attorney.— Richard S. Coxe. 

Aldermen .— W '. W. Seaton, president; John Wells, jr., James Thompson, Peter 
Lenox, John A. Wilson, Peter Force, George Watterston, James Young, Griffith 
Coombe, Clement T. Coote, Edward W. Clarke, Andrew Forrest; E. J. Middleton, 
secretary. 

Common council .— Alexander Mclntyre, president; John Barcroft, Nathaniel Frye, 
jr., Johnson Hellen, Frederick Keller, William J. Stone, Jacob Gideon, jr., Joseph 
Harbaugh, Aaron Van Coble, William Brent, William J. McCormick, John Coyle, jr., 
John Carothers, Nathaniel Brady, James Adams, Adam Lindsay, James Marshall, 
Charles F. Ellis; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Twenty-ninth Council. — 1831. 

Mayor. — John P. Van Ness. Surveyor.— -F. C. De KraFFT. 

Register.— William Hewitt. Attorney.— Richard S. Coxe. 

Aldermen. — Peter Force, president; James Thompson, John Wells, jr., John A. 
Wilson, Peter Lenox, Jesse Brown, William Brent, George Watterston, Clement T. 
Coote, Griffith Coombe, John Nowland, Edward Simms; E. J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Nathaniel Frye, jr., president; John Barcroft, John H. Houston, 
Johnson Hellen, George Crandell, Frederick Keller, Joseph H. Bradley, Jacob Gid- 
eon, jr., Joseph Harbaugh, George Phillips, William Ingle, Charles K. Gardner, 
James Carbery, John Carothers, Nathaniel Brady, Adam Lindsay, Charles F. Ellis, 
William D. Acken; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Thirtieth Council. — 1832. 

Mayor.— John P. Van Ness. Surveyor.— William Elliott. 

Register.— William Hewitt. Attorney.— Richard S. Coxe. 

Aldermen. — Peter Force, president; Charles W. Goldsborough, James Thompson, 
John McClelland, John A. Wilson, William Gunton, Charles K. Gardner, William 
Brent, Nathaniel Brady, Clement T. Coote, Edward Simms, John Nowland; E. J. 
Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Alexander Mclntyre, president; John Barcroft, Edmund Hanly, 
Frederick Keller, George Crandell, Johnson Hellen, Joseph Harbaugh, David A. 
Hall, Jacob Gideon, jr., William Ingle, Moses Tabbs, George Phillips, Benjamin 
Bean, Peter Griffin, John Carothers, James Marshall, Charles F. Ellis, Samuel 
Phillips; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Thirty-first Council.— 1833. 

Mayor. — John P. Van Ness. Surveyor. — William Elliott. 

Register. —William Hewitt. Atlomey —Richard S. Coxe. 

Aldermen. — Peter Force, president; James Thompson, Charles W. Goldsborough, 
John A. Wilson, John McClelland, William Gunton, William Brent, Charles K. 
Gardner, Clement T. Coote, Nathaniel Brady, John Nowland, Edward Simms; E. J. 
Middleton, secretary. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 305 

Common council. — Alexander Mclntyre, president; Edmund Hanley, John Bar- 
croft, George Crandell, Ignatius Mudd, C. L. Coltman, David Saunders, Reuben 
Burdiue, James Hoban, Moses Tabbs, Robert Beale, William Ingle, Peter Griffin, 
Robert Hewitt, Thomas Blagden, William Speideu, James Marshall, Joshua L. Hen- 
shaw; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Thirty-second Council. — 1S34. 

Mayor. — William A. Bradley. Surveyor.— William Elliott. 

Register. — William Hewitt. Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley'. 

Aldermen. — Clement T. Coote, president; Charles W. Goldsborough, James Thomp- 
son, Frederick Keller, John A. Wilson, George Sweeny, William Gunton, George 
Watterston, William Brent, William R. Maddox, James Marshall, John Nowland; 
Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Alexander Mclntire, president; Edmund Hanley, John Adams, 
George Crandell, Ignatius Mudd, Charles L. Coltman, Matthew St. C. Clarke, Joseph 
Harbaugh, David Saunders, James Carbery, Robert Brown, Moses Tabbs, Thomas 
Blagden, Peter Griffin, John Carothers, William Speiden, Charles F. Ellis, Joshua L. 
Henshaw; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Thirty'-third Council. — 1S35. 

Mayor.— William Bradley. Surveyor. — William Elliott. 

Register. — William Hewitt. Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Charles W. Goldsborough, president; Nathan Towson, Frederick 
Keller, Edward Dyer, George Sweeney, William Gunton, George Watterston, Wil- 
liam Brent, William R. Maddox, Clement T. Coote, James Marshall, John Noland; 
Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Alexander Mclntire, president; John D. Barclay, John Adams, 
Ignatius Mudd, Jonathan Seaver, Wallace Kirkwood, Joseph Harbaugh, John W. 
Maur}', Peter Force, James Young, Moses Tabbs, James Carbery, John Carothers, 
William Speiden, Peter Griffin, Joshua L. Henshaw, Marmaduke Dove, Charles F. 
Ellis; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Thirty-fourth Council. — 1836. 

Mayor. — Peter Force. Surveyor. — William Elliott- 

Register. — William Hewitt. Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Charles W. Goldsborough, president; John D. Barclay, Edward Dyer, 
Charles L. Coltman, Joseph Harbaugh, William Gunton, George Watterston, William 
Brent, Nathaniel Brady, C. T. Coote, Jas. Marshall, John Noland; Erasmus J. Mid- 
dleton, secretary. 

Common council. — James Carber}', president; Edmund Hanly, William B. Magru- 
der, William Easby, Jonathan Seaver, Wallace Kirkwood, George Crandell, John W. 
Maury, John H. Goddard, G. C. Grammer, Jas. Adams, John Lynch, William Speiden, 
John Carothers, Thomas Blagden, John Costigan, P. M. Pearson, Marmaduke Dove; 
Richard Barry, secretary. 

Thirty-fifth Council. — 1837. 

Mayor.— Peter Force. Surveyor.— William P. Elliott. 

Register. — William Hewitt. Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Charles W. Goldsborough, president, John D. Barclay, William B. 
Randolph, Charles L. Coltman, William Gunton, Joseph Harbaugh, William Brent, 



306 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

George Watterston, Griffith Coombe, Nathaniel Brady, Marmaduke Dove, James 
Marshall; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — James Carbery, president; Edmund Hanly, Thomas Munroe, 
William Easby, Jonathan Seaver, Wallace Kirkwood, George Crandell, John W. 
Maury, John H. Goddard, G. C. Grammer, James Adams, Joseph Follansbee, Alex- 
ander Shepherd, William E. Howard, Isaac Clarke, James Crandell, Jarret Taylor, 
Benedict Milburn; Richard Barn', secretary. 

Thirty-sixth Council. — 1838. 

Mayor. — Peter Force. Surveyor. — William P. Elliott. 

Register. — William Hewitt. Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen . — Charles W. Goldsborough , president; John D. Barclay, Edward Dyer, 
William B. Randolph, John W. Maury, William Gunton, George Watterston, William 
Brent, Isaac Clarke, Griffith Coombe, James Marshall, Marmaduke Dove; Erasmus 
J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — James Carbery, president; Edmund Hanl_y, William B. Magru- 
der, William Wilson, Jonathan Seaver, Wallace Kirkwood, William W. Billing, John 
H. Goddard, G. C. Grammer, John C. Harkness, James Adams, John S. Devlin, Wil- 
liam E. Howard, Samuel Byington, Nathaniel Brady, James Crandell, Robert M. 
Coombe, Benedict Milburn; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Thirty-seventh Council. — 1839. 

Mayor. — Peter Force. Collector. — A. RoThwell. 

Register.— C. H. WiLTBERGER. Surveyor. — William P. Elliott. 

Attorney. — J. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen . — Charles W. Goldsborough, president; John D. Barcla3', Wallace Kirk- 
wood, William B. Randolph, John W. Maury, William Gunton, George Watterston, 
William Brent, Isaac Clarke, Nathaniel Brady, James Marshall, Marmaduke Dove; 
Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council.— James Carbery, president; Edmund Hanly, William B. Magru- 
der, William Wilson, John Wilson, Lewis Johnson, John A. M. Duncanson, John C. 
Harkness, Samuel Bacon, G. C. Grammer, George C. Thompson, John Kedglie, Sam- 
uel Byington, Edward Mattingly, George W. Thompson, James Crandell, George 
Adams, G. H. Fulmer; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Thirty-eighth Council. — 1840. 

Mayor. — William W. Seaton. Collector.— A. Rothwell. 

Register.— C. H. WiLTBERGER. Surveyor.— William P. Elliott. 

Attorney. — J. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Charles W. Goldsborough, president; John D. Barclay, Wallace Kirk- 
wood, William B. Randolph, John H. Goddard, William Gunton, James Carbery, 
William Brent, Isaac Clarke, Nathaniel Brady, James Marshall, Marmaduke Dove; 
Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Edmund Hanly, president; William Easby, William Wilson, 
William Orme, Lewis Johnson, W. W. Stewart, John C. Harkness, Samuel Bacon, 
Joseph Bryan, John H. Houston, Simon Bassett, William J. McDonald, Samuel 
Byington, John L. Maddox, J. T. Van Reswick, James Crandell, E. W. Clarke, G. H. 
Fulmer; Richard Barry, secretary. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 307 

Thirty-ninth Council. — 1841. 

Mayor.— William W. Seaton. Collector.— A. Rothwell. 

Register. — C. H. Wiltberger. Surveyor.— William P. Elliott. 

Attorney. — J. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Charles W. Goldsborough, president; John D. Barclay, William Orme, 
John Wilson, John H. Goddard, John W. Maury, James Carbery, James Adams, Sam- 
uel Byington, Nathaniel Brady, James Marshall, Marmaduke Dove; Erasmus J. 
Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Edmund Hanly, president; William Easby, William Wilson, 
Lewis Johnson, James F. Haliday, William Radcliff, John C. Harkness, Samuel 
Bacon, Joseph Bryan, Simon Bassett, Joseph Beck, B. B. French, J. S. Miller, William 
P. Ferguson, J. T. Van Reswick, James Crandeli, E. W. Clarke, G. H. Fulmer; 
Richard Barry, secretary. 

Fortieth Council. — 1S42. 

Mayor. — William W. Seaton. Collector.— A. RoTHWELL. 

Register. — C. H. Wiltberger. Surveyor. — William P. Elliott. 

Attorney. — J. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — James Adams, president; W. B. Magruder, John D. Barclay, William 
Orme, John Wilson, John H. Goddard, John W. Maury, James Carbery, Samuel 
Byington, Nathaniel Brady, James Marshall, Marmaduke Dove; Erasmus J. Mid- 
dleton, secretary. 

Common council. — B. B. French, president; Charles A. Davis, William Wilson, A. 
Mclntire, Lewis Johnson, James F. Haliday, Ignatius Mudd, Walter Lenox, Samuel 
Bacon, J. T. Towers, John A. Lynch, Joseph W. Beck, J. E. Neale, William P. Fer- 
guson, J. T. Van Reswick, James Crandeli, E. W. Clarke, G. H. Fulmer; Richard 
Barry, secretary. 

Forty-first Council. —1843. 

Mayor.— William W. Seaton. Collector.— A. Rothwell. 

Register.— C. H. Wiltberger. Surveyor. — William P. Elliott. 

Attorney. — J. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — James Adams, president; W. B. Magruder, John D. Barclay, William 
Orme, John Wilson, John H. Goddard, John W. Maury, Joseph W. Beck, Samuel 
Byington, Nathaniel Brady, James Marshall, Edward W. Clarke; Erasmus J. Mid- 
dleton, secretary. 

Common council. — B. B. French, president; Charles A. Davis, William Wilson, 
Richard M. Harrison, Nicholas Callan, jr., James F. Haliday, Ignatius Mudd, Walter 
Lenox, Samuel Bacon, J. T. Towers, John Lynch, William Hicks, J. E. Neale, Wil- 
liam Dixon, John McCauley, James Crandeli, James Cull, G. H. Fulmer; Richard 
Barry, secretary. 

Forty'-second Council. — 1844. 

Mayor. — William W. Seaton. Collector. — A. Rothwell. 

Register.— C. H. Wiltberger. Surveyor. — William P. Elliott. 

Attorney. — I. H. Bradley'. 

Aldermen. — James Adams, president; John D. Barclay, W. B. Magruder, John 
Wilson, William Orme, John W. Maury, Walter Lenox, Joseph W. Beck, Nathaniel 
Brady, Samuel Byington, Marmaduke Dove, Thomas Thornly; Erasmus J. Middleton, 
secretary. 



308 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Common council. — Samuel Bacon, president; William Wilson, Chas. A. Davis, R. M. 
Harrison, Jas. F. Haliday, Saml. D. King, Lewis Johnson, John T. Towers, Saml. 
Burche, Jas. B. Phillips, John Kedglie, John Johnson, John Van Riswick, J. W. Jones, 
John McCauley, G. H. Fulmer, James Cull, John R. Queen; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Forty-third Council. — 1845. 

Mayor.— William W. Seaton. Collector.— A. Rothwell. 

Register. — C. H. WilTberGER. Surveyor. — William P. Elliott. 

Attorney. — J. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — James Adams, president; W. B. Magruder, John D. Barclay, William 
Orme, John Wilson, Walter Lenox, John W. Maury, Joseph W. Beck, Samuel Bying- 
ton, J. C. Fitzpatrick, Thomas Thornly, Marmaduke Dove; Erasmus J. Middleton, 
secretary. 

Common council. — Samuel Bacon, president; Chas. A. Davis, Saml. T. Stott, G. C. 
Harkness, Jas. F. Haliday, Saml. D. King, Lewis Johnson, John T. Sowers, Samuel 
Burche, John Kedglie, B. B. French, Peter Brady, J. W. Jones, John Van Riswick, 
John L. Maddox, G. H. Fulmer, Alex. H. Lawrence, James Cull; Richard Barry, 
secretary. 

Forty-fourth Council. — 1846. 

Mayor.— William W. Seaton. Collector.— A. Rothwell. 

Register. — C. H. Wiltberger. Surveyor. — Randolph CoylE. 

Attorney.—]. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — John D. Barclay, president; W. B. Magruder, John Wilson, William 
Orme, S. P. Franklin, John T. Towers, John W. Maury, Walter Lenox, J. C. Fitz- 
patrick, B. B. French, Robert Clarke, Thomas Thornly, Ignatius Mudd, Samuel 
Byington; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Samuel Bacon, president; Charles A. Davis, William Wilson, 
William Easby, James F. Haliday, Samuel D. King, Lewis Johnson, Joseph Burrows, 
Silas H. Hill, James W. Moorhead, Richard Wallach, Hugh B. Sweeny, A. W. Mil- 
ler, Richard Dement, Peter Brady, G. H. Fulmer, James Cull, John R. Queen, J. W. 
Jones, William Lloyd, J. T. Cassell; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Forty-fifth Council. — 1847. 

Mayor.— William W. Seaton. Collector.— A. Rothwell. 

Register.— C. H. Wiltberger. Surveyor.— Randolph CoylE. 

Attorney.—]. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Walter Lenox, president; John D. Barclay, William B. Scott, John 
Wilson, William Orme, S. P. Franklin, John T. Towers, John W. Maury, James 
Adams, B. B. French, Robert Clarke, Thomas Thornly, Ignatius Mudd, Samuel 
Byington; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Samuel Bacon, president; George J. Abbott, Samuel Stott, 
William Easby, James F. Haliday, Jesse E. Dow, Lewis Johnson, Joseph Burrows, 
Silas Hill, Joseph Bryan, Richard Wallach, Hugh B. Sweeny, John Johnson, Cor- 
nelius Tims, E. W. Smallwood, G. H. Fulmer, John R. Queen, James Cull, William 
Ashdown, William Lloyd, John T. Cassell; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Forty-sixth Council. — 1848. 

Mayor.— William W. Seaton. Collector.— A. Rothwell. 

Register.— -W '. J. McCormick. Surveyor.— C B. CluskEY. 

Attorney.—]. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Walter Lenox, president; William B. Scott, Samuel Drury, William 
Orme, John Wilson, S. P. Franklin, JohnT. Towers, John W. Maury, James Adams, 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 309 

Benjamin B. French, Robert Clarke, Thomas Thornly, Ignatius Mudd, Samuel 
Byington; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Silas H. Hill, president; Samuel E. Douglass, Samuel Stott, 
William T. Dove, Lewis Johnson, Nicholas Callan, Jesse E. Dow, Joseph Burrows, 
Joseph Bryan, Richard Wallach, Hugh B. Sweeny, William H. Winter, John John- 
son, George M. Dove, Francis Y. Naylor, James Cull, John Queen, Jonas B. Ellis, 
J. W. Jones, William Lloyd, John T. Cassell; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Forty-seventh Council. — 1S49. 

Mayor.— William W. Seaton. Collector.— A. Rmhweu. 

Register— -W '. J. McCormick. Surveyor.— C. B. Cluskey. 

Attorney. — J. H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Walter Lenox, president; William B. Magruder, Samuel Drury, John 
Wilson, William Orme, S. P. Franklin, John T. Towers, John W. Maury, Joseph W. 
Beck, Benjamin B. French, James A. Gordon, Thomas Thornly, P. M. Pearson, 
Samuel Byington; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council.— Silas H. Hill, president; Samuel E. Douglass, James L. Cath- 
cart, William T. Dove, William F. Bayly, Nicholas Callan, Jesse E. Dow, Joseph 
Bryan, J. A. M. Duncanson, Hugh B. Sweeny, William H. Winter, George S. 
Gideon, John Johnson, George M. Dove, John L. Wirt, A. W. Miller, John Queen, 
Jonas B. Ellis, J. W. Jones, D. B. Johnson, Ephraim Wheeler; Richard Barry, 
secretary. 

Forty-eighth Council. — 1850. 

Mayor.— Walter Lenox. Collector.— A. Roth well. 

Register.— W. J. McCormick. Surveyor.— C. B. Cluskey. 

Attorney. — James M. Carlisle. 

Aldermen.— Benjamin B. French, president; William B. Magruder, Samuel Drury, 
John Wilson, William F. Bayly, S. P. Franklin, John T. Towers, John W. Maury, 
Hugh B. Sweeny, Joseph W. Beck, James A. Gordon, Thomas Thornly, Peter M. 
Pearson, James E. Morgan; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common C07incil.— Silas H. Hill, president; Samuel E. Douglass, William T. Dove, . 
T. P. Morgan, N. Callan, Joel Downer, J. R. Barr, Joseph Bryan, E. M. Chapin, 
M. P. Idohun, T. H. Havenner, W. H. Winter, John C. Brent, Thomas Hutching- 
son, John L. Wirt, A. W. Miller, John W. McKim, William Morgan, E. Wheeler, 
D. B. Johnson, J. Van Reswick; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Forty-ninth Council. — 1S51. 

Mayor.— Walter Lenox. Collector.— Robert J. Roche. 

Register— -W. J. McCormick. Surveyor.— Henry W. Ball. 

Attorney. — James M. Carlisle. 

Aldermen.— Benjamin B. French, president; William T. Dove, William B. 
Magruder, William F. Bayly, John Wilson, John T. Towers, Joseph Burrows, Hugh 
B. Sweeny, John W. Maury, John L. Wirt, Thomas Thornly, James A. Gordon, 
James E. Morgan, George Page; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council.— Silas H. Hill, president; Samuel E. Douglass, H. N. Easby, 
James Kelly, N. Callan, Joel Downer, John F. Ennis, Joseph Bryan, C. P. Wannell, 
M. P. Mohun, T. H. Havenner, John P. Pepper, John C. Brent, Thomas Hutching- 
son, John J. Mulloy, A. W. Miller, James Cull, William Morgan, E. Wheeler, D. B. 
Johnson, J. Van Reswick; Richard Barry, secretary. 



310 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Fiftieth Council. — 1852. 

Mayor. — J. W. Maury. Collector.— Robert J. Roche. 

Register. — William J. McCormick. Surveyor.— Henry W. Ball. 

Attorney. — James M. Carlisle. 

Aldermen. — Benjamin B. French, president; William B. Magruder, Thomas P. 
Morgan, John Wilson, William F. Bayly, John T. Towers, Joseph Burrows, Alex- 
ander McD. Davis, Silas H. Hill, John L. Wirt, Thomas Thornly, James A. Gordon, 
George Page, Ephraim Wheeler; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Nicholas Callan, president; Samuel E. Douglass, H. N. Easby, 
James Kelly, J. R. Barr, J. W. Downer, Joseph Bryan, Edward F. Queen, Joseph 
W. Davis, John P. Pepper, Henr)' Hay, George Burns, Samuel Hanson, jr., Thomas 
Hutchingson (to September 6), John W. Meade (from September 20), John J. Mul- 
loy, William Morgan, A. W. Miller, James Cull, Samuel Pumphrey, William R. 
Riley, John Van Reswick; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Fifty-first Council— 1S53. 

Mayor. — J. W. Maury - . Collector.- -Robert J. Roche. 

Register. — William J. McCormick. Surveyor. — Henry W. Ball. 

Attorney. — James M. Carlisle. 

Aldermen. — John T. Towers, president; William B. Magruder, Thomas P. Mor- 
gan, B. W. Reed, William F. Bayly, Joseph Burrows, Alexander McD. Davis, Silas H. 
Hill, John C. Fitzpatrick, John J. Mulloy, Robert Clarke, William Morgan, Dearborn 
Johnson, Ephraim Wheeler; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Nicholas Callan, president; Samuel E. Douglass, H.N. Easby, 
James Kelly, J. R. Barr, George W. Stewart, Charles P. Wannell, Edward F. Queen, 
Joseph W. Davis, John P. Pepper, R. H. Clark, George Burns, Samuel Hanson, jr., 
S. C. Busey, John W. Meade, L. Gaddis, A. W. Miller, James Cull, Samuel Pum- 
phrey, William R. Riley, William C. Bamberger; Richard Barry, secretary. 

Fifty-second Council. — 1S54. 

Mayor.— John T. Towers. Collector.— Robert J. Roche. 

Register. — William J. McCormick. Surveyor. — Henry W. Ball. 

Attorney.— Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Silas H. Hill, president; W. T. Dove, W. B. Magruder, William F. 
Bayly, B. W. Reed, French S. Evans, Joseph Burrows, John P. Pepper, John H. 
Houston, J. C. Fitzpatrick, Robert Clarke, S. A. H. Marks, P. M. Pearson, D. B. 
Johnson; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council. — Alexander McD. Davis, president; James Kelly, W. G. H. 
Newman, Luther R. Smoot, J. Russell Barr, G. H. Plant, John M. Donn, Joseph W. 
Davis, J. A. M. Duncanson, J. T. Walker, John T. Clements, John Ball, John T. 
Killmon, John McCauley, Samuel C. Busey, George R. Ruff, J. Cross, Henry Stew- 
art, John Smith, W. C. Bamberger, John F. Gill; Charles F. Lowery, secretary. 

Fifty-third Council. — 1S55. 

Mayor. — John T. Towers. Collector. — John M. McCalla. 

Register. — Samuel E. Douglass. Surveyor. — R. Finley Hunt. 

Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Robert Clarke, president; William B. Magruder, William T. Dove, 
William F. Bayly, Thomas Miller, French S. Evans, John Tretler, John P. Pepper, 
Matthew G. Emery, Samuel C. Busey, John H. Houston, S. A. H. Marks, John D. 
Smith, Peter M. Pearson; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 311 

Common council.—]. T. Clements, president; Charles Abert, John B. Turton, 
Edward H. Fuller, Ferdinand Jefferson, Thomas J. Fisher, William Orme, Jonathan 
T. Walker, James Towles, J. H. G. McCutchen, John Ball, James P. McKean, Almon 
Baldwin, J. H. Peters, John Bohlayer, John Bayne, Josiah Venable, George R. Ruff, 
Samuel Y. Atlee, Thomas E. Lloyd, Jackson Pumphrey; Charles F. Lowery, secretary. 

Fifty-fourth Council. — 1856. 

Mayor.— William B. Magruder. Collector.— John M. McCalla. 

Register.— Samuel E. Douglass. Surveyor.— R. Finley Hunt. 

Attorney. — James M. Carlisle. 

Aldermen. — Robert Clarke, president; William T. Dove, George W. Riggs, William 
F. Bayly, Thomas Miller, French S. Evans, John Tretler, Matthew G Emery, William 
W. Moore, John H. Houston, S. C Busey, Robert Clarke, George R. Ruff, Peter M. 
Pearson, John L. Smith; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council.— Samuel Y. Atlee, president; CharlesAbert, John B. Turton, D. C. 
Lee, Thomas J. Fisher, Ferdinand Jefferson, William Orme, James Towles, Jonathan 
T. Walker, J. H. G. McCutcheon, James A. Kennedy, Richard H. Clarke, Elijah 
Edmonston, John Bohlayer, Almon Baldwin, D. A. Watterson, John Bayne, James A. 
Gordon, Williani E. Hutchinson, Thomas E. Lloyd, Robert T. Knight; Charles F. 
Lower}-, secretary. 

Fifty-fifth Council.— 1S57. 

Mayor.— William B. Magruder. Collector.— James F. Haliday. 

Register.— William Morgan. Surveyor.— William Forsyth. 

Attorney. — James M. Carlisle. 

Aldermen.— William F. Bayly, president; William T. Dove, George W. Riggs, 
Thomas Miller, Thomas Donoho, F. S. Evans, William W. Moore, John H. Goddard, 
John H. Houston, Edmund Barry, Robert Clarke, George R. Ruff, Peter M. Pearson, 
John L. Smith; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council.— Charles Abert, president; John B. Turton, Robert A. Waters, 
Thomas J. Fisher, Ferdinand Jefferson, William Orme, Lambert Tree, Joseph F. 
Brown, C. S. O'Hare, James A. Kennedy, Richard H. Clarke, Elijah Edmonston, 
William A. Mulloy, E. F. French, W. F. Wallace, James A. Gordon, William E. 
Hutchinson, James Crandall; William A. Kennedy, secretary. 

Fifty-sixth Council. — 1858. 

Mayor.— James G Berret. Collector.— James F. Haliday. 

Register.— William Morgan. Surveyor.— William Forsyth. 

Attorney.— James M. Carlisle. 

Aldermen.— William T. Dove, president; George W. Riggs, Thomas J. Fisher, Thos. 
Miller, Thos. Donoho, Jos. F. Brown, William W. Moore, Francis Mohun, Edmund 
Barry, C. W. C. Dunnington, Aaron W. Miller, Robert Clarke, Peter M. Pearson, 
John L. Smith; Erasmus J. Middleton, secretary. 

Common council.— Charles Abert, president; John B. Turton, Southey S. Parker, 
Charles S. Jones, William Orme, Grafton Powell, Lambert Tree, W. Gray Palmer, 
C. S. O'Hare, Elijah Edmonston, Wm. P. Mohun, S. D. Castleman, Wm. A. Mulloy, 
J. T. Van Reswick, W. F. Wallace, George A. Bohrer, F. S. Ober, Jno. H. Russell, 
Thos. E. Lloyd, Chas. Wilson, Thos. Millstead; Wm. A. Kennedy, secretary. 



312 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Fifty-seventh Council. — 1859. 

Mayor. — James G. Berret. Collector.— James F. Haliday. 

Register. — William Morgan. Surveyor. — William Forsyth. 

Attorney. — James M. Carlisle. 

Aldermen. — William T. Dove, president; Wm. B. Magruder, Thos. J. Fisher, Wm. 
F. Bayly, Thos. Donoho, Jos. F. Brown, Wm. W. Moore, Wm. H. Ward, C. W. C. 
Dunnington, Wm. F. Price, Aaron W. Miller, Francis McNerhany, Peter M. Pearson, 
E. M. Clark; R. H. Laskey, secretary. 

Common council. — Charles Abert, president; John B. Turton, Thos. P. Morgan, 
Chas. Jones, Wm. Orme, Grafton Powell, Lambert Tree, Theodore Sheckells, P. M. 
Martin, Elijah Edmonston, Wm. P. Mohun, W. J. C. Duhamel, J. T Van Reswick, 
Jno. W. Mead, E. F. French, J. M. Boiseau, F. S. Ober, Jno. H. Russell, J. T. Cassell, 
J. T. Given, D. B. Clark; Wm. A. Kennedy, secretary. 

Fifty-eighth Council. — 1S60. 

Mayor. — James G. Berret. Collector. — James F. Haliday-. 

Register. — William Morgan. Surveyor. — William Forsyth. 

Attorney. — James G. Carlisle. 

Aldermen. — William T. Dove, president; William B. Magruder, Thomas J. Fisher, 
William F. Bayly, Thomas Donoho, Joseph F. Brown, William W. Moore, William H. 
Ward, William F.Price (vacancy), George A. Bohrer (vacancy), John H. Semmes, 
. E. M. Clark; R. H. Laskey, secretary. 

Common cotmcil. — Grafton Powell, president; George W. Emerson, Thomas P. 
Morgan, Peter Lamond, Charles S. Jones, L. F. Clark, Joseph Borrows, Horatio N. 
Easby, Joseph B. Bryan, Elijah Edmonston, William P. Mohun, E. M. Chapin, J. 
T. Van Reswick, John W. Mead, W. A. Mulloy, F. S. Ober, JohnH. Russell (vacancy), 
Edward Thomas, J. T. Given, Charles Wilson; William A. Kennedy, secretary. 

Fifty-ninth Council. — 1S61. 

Mayor. — Richard Wallach. Collector.— William Dixon. 

Register. — Samuel E. Douglass. Surveyor. — William Forsyth. 

Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — William T. Dove, president; William B. Magruder, William F. Bayly, 
Thomas J. Fisher, Joseph F. Brown, A. C. Richards, William W. Moore, Cornelius 
Wendell, John M. Brodhead, Nathan Sargent, George A. Bohrer, T. Edward Clark, 
Thomas E. Lloyd, John H. Semmes; Samuel V. Noyes, secretary. 

Common council. — Z. Richards, president; Thomas P. Morgan, George W. Emer- 
son, John B. Turton, Nicholas Callan, George T. Raub, A. R..Shepherd, Thomas A. 
Stephens, Thomas Lewis, Elijah Edmonston, Samuel Byington, William P. Mohun, 
William A. Mulloy, George Hitz, John Grinder, William Talbert, John H. Peake 
(vacancy), Charles Wilson, J. T. Given, William J. Murtagh; William A. Kennedy, 
secretary. 

Sixtieth Council. — 1862. 

Mayor.— Richard Wallach. Collector.— William Dixon. 

Register. — Samuel E. Douglass. Surveyor. — William Forsyth. 

Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Joseph F. Brown, president; William B. Magruder, John B. Turton, 
George H. Plant, Lewis Clephane, A. C. Richards, Cornelius Wendell, John P. 
Pepper, John M. Brodhead, Nathan Sargent, T. Edward Clark, James A. Gordon, 
Thomas E. Lloyd, John H. Semmes; Samuel V. Noyes, secretary. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 313 

Common council.— A. R. Shepherd, president: Thomas Donoho, Charles Gordon, 
William Rapley, J. Russell Barr, George T. Raub, J. W. Thompson, Thomas A.' 
Stephens, Thomas Lewis, Asbury Lloyd, Charles H. Utermehle, Joseph Follansbee, 
Robert T. Knight, Charles I. Canfield, George F. Gulick, John H. Peake, William 
Talbert, Richard Morgan, Charles Wilson, William J. Murtagh, Charles W. Mitchell; 
Frederick L. Harvey, secretary. 

Sixty-first Council.— 1S63. 

Mayor.— Richard Waiuch. Collector.— William Dixon. 

Register.— Samuel E. Douglass. Surveyor.— William Forsyth. 

Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen.— John H. Semmes, president; W. W. Rapley, John B. Turton, George 
H. Plant, Lewis Clephane, Joseph F. Brown, Thomas Lewis, John P. Pepper, Charles 
H. Utermehle, George F. Gulick, Nathan Sargent, Richard Morgan, James A. Gordon, 
Thomas E. Lloyd; Samuel V. Noyes, secretary. 

Common council.— Asbury Lloyd, president; James Kelly, H. C. Wilson, Thomas 
Donoho, George T. Raub, J. Russell Barr, William P. Shedd, A. R. Shepherd, N. D. 
Larner, T. A. Stephens, Joseph Follansbee, Michael Larner, William P. Ferguson 
Robert Knight, Charles I. Canfield, George R. Ruff, John H. Peake, Donald 
McCathran, Charles Wilson, C. S. Noyes, J. B. Ellis; Frederick L. Harvey, secretary. 

Sixty-second Council.— 1S64. 

Mayor. -Richard Wallach. Collector.— William Dixon. 

Register.— Samvkl E. Douglass. Surveyor.— William Forsyth. 

Attorney. —Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen.— Joseph F. Brown, president; William W. Rapley, John B. Turton, 
George H. Plant, J. Russell Barr, Thomas Lewis, Thomas E. Lloyd, Charles H.' 
Utermehle, John P. Pepper, George F. Gulick, Charles I. Canfield, Richard Morgan, 
Donald McCathran, Crosby S. Noyes; Samuel V. Noyes, secretary. 

Common council.— Asbury Lloyd, president; James Kelly, H. C. Wilson, J. A. 
Rheem, Samuel W. Owen, William Pettibone, Samuel A. Peugh, N. D. Larner, Thomas 
A. Stephens, John W. Simms, William W. Moore, Elijah Edmonston, William P. Fer- 
guson, James B. Davis, J. B. Ward, George R. Ruff, William Talbert, Bennett Swain, 
W. T. Walker, John G. Dudley, George Wright; William H. Pope, secretary. 

Sixty'-third Council. — 1865. 

Mayor.— Richard Wallach. Collector.— William Dixon. 

Register.— Samuel E. Douglass. Surveyor. —William Forsyth. 

Attorney.— Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen.— Thomas E. Lloyd, president; John B. Turton, William B. Magruder, J. 
Russell Barr, Samuel W. Owen, Joseph F. Brown, Thomas Lewis, John P. Pepper, 
Asbury Lloyd, Charles I. Canfield, George F. Gulick, Donald McCathran, Samuel 
Cross, Crosby S. Noyes; Samuel V. Noyes, secretary. 

Common council.— William W. Moore, president; John A. Rheem, John Tynan, 
James H. Hazel, Samuel A. Peugh, H. ClayStewart, Andrew J. Joyce, John W. Simms, 
Washington B. Williams, A. G. Hall, Elijah Edmonston, Charles H. Anderson, W. P. 
Ferguson, W. H. Hamilton, John W. Mead, William Talbert, John E. Herrell, C. W. 
White, John G. Dudley, George Wright, W. T. Walker; William H. Pope, secretary. 



314 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Sixty-fourth Council. — 1866. 

Mayor. — Richard Wallach. Collectoi . — William Dixon. 

Register. — Samuel E. Douglass. Surveyor. — William Forsyth. 

Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley. 

Aldermen. — Thomas E. Lloyd, president; William B. Magruder, John B. Turton, 
Samuel W. Owen, J. Russell Barr, Thomas Lewis, John T. Given, Asbury Lloyd, 
(vacancy), James A. Tait, George F. Gulick, Samuel Cross, Donald McCathran, 
Crosby S. Noyes; Samuel V. Noyes, secretary. 

Common council. — William W. Moore, president; SamuelT.Drury, Andrew Carroll, 
Clarence B. Baker, Andrew J. Joyce, H. Clay Stewart, Samuel A. Peugh, George W. 
Calvert, John W. Simms, B. F. Morsell, William H. Nally, Charles H. Anderson, 
John V. Bryan, William A. Mulloy, John W. Mead, Thomas B. Marche, William 
Talbert, John H. Peake, John G. Dudley, George Wright, W. T. Walker; William 
H. Pope, secretary. 

Sixty-fifth Council. — 1S67. 

Mayor. — Richard Wallach. Collector. — A. G. Hall. 

Register. — Frederick A. Boswell. Surveyor. — C. H. Bliss. 

Attorney. — Joseph H. Bradley, Jr. 

Aldermen. — J. Russell Barr, president; J. Q. Larman, John B. Turton, Z. Richards, 
J. R. Elvans, John T. Given, Asbury Lloyd, W. W. Moore, John Grinder, James A. 
Tait, W. Talbert, Donald McCathran, E. Wheeler, Crosby S. Noyes; Samuel V. 
Noyes, secretary. 

Common council.— J. C. Dulin, president; W. M. Slowen, O. S. Baker, H. H. Tilley, 
J. S. Pfau, J. S. Crocker, William Rutherford, N. B. Clark, T. C . Connolly, R. J. Beail, 
Robert Ball, W. H. Nalley, J. F. Moore, L. B. S. Miller, J. R. Arrison, A. P. Clark, 
J. M. Dalton, G. W. Miller, H. M. Knight, S. S. Baker, M. T. Parker; H. A. Hall, 
secretary. 

Sixty-sixth Council.— 186S. 

Mayor. — Sayles J. Bowen. Collector. — A. G. Hall. 

Register.— Frederick A. Boswell. Surveyor. — C H. Bliss. 

Attorney. — William A. Cook. 

Aldermen. — John Grinder, president; J. O. Larman, John F. Cook, Z. Richards, 
John S. Crocker, Benjamin F. Morsell, Robert W. Fenwick, William W. Moore, Asbury 
Lloyd, Appleton P. Clark, William Talbert, Donald McCathran, Henry M. Knight, 
S. S. Baker; H. A. Hall, secretary. 

Common council.— T. T. Fowler, president; A. S. Taylor, D. M. Davis, C. A. Stewart, 

D. M. Kelsey (resigned November 9) , William Rutherford, William H. Chase, Wilson 

E. Brown, F. J. Bartlett, Nathaniel Sardo, William H. Nalley, Robert Ball, George 
Jueneman, John R. Arrison, L. B. S. Miller, Turner Torrey, George W. Miller, James 
M. Dalton, John H. Russell, Charles S. Bates, L. G. Hine; William H. Pope, 
secretary. 

Sixty-seventh Council. — 1S69. 

Mayor. — Sayles J. Bowen. Collector.— Frederick A. Boswell. 

Register. — John F. Cook. Surveyor. — Patrick H. Donegan. 

Attorney.— William A. Cook. 

Aldermen. — John S. Crocker, president; D. M. Davis, Carter A. Stewart, William 
H. Slater, W. H. Chase, B. F. Morsell, T. C. Connolly, William W. Moore, M. G. 
Emery, Appleton P. Clark, Donald McCathran, Charles Champion, H. M. Knight, 
Sidney S. Baker; Charles L. Hulse, secretary. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 315 

Common council. — Joseph Williams, president; A. S. Taylor, Robert Thompson, 
A. P. Fardon, H. A. Hall, H. H. Piper, George Burgess, R. J. Beall, John T. John- 
sou, R. B. Detrick, A. K. Browne, George W. Hatton, J. H. Holmes, J. W. McKnight, 
A. B. Tinney, Charles H. Holden, Josiah H. Venable, Frank D. Gaines, R. A. 
Simms, Sampson Netter, William Boyd; William H. Pope, secretary. 

Sixty-eighth Council.— 1870. 

Mayor.— Matthew G. Emery. Collector. — Frederick A. Boswell. 

Register. — John F. Cook. Surveyor. — Patrick H. Donegan. 

Attorney.— Enoch Totten. 

Aldermen. — John S. Crocker, president; D. M. Davis, Carter A. Stewart, W. H. 
Chase, A. R. Shepherd, T. C. Connolly, W. W. Moore, Jacob H. Crossman, George 
F. Gulick, William H. Slater, Donald McCathran, Charles Champion, vice-president; 
L. G. Hine, Sidney S. Baker; Charles L. Hulse, secretary, 

Common council. — Charles H. Holden, president; E. E. Brooke, J. F. Murray, W. 
A. Freeman, A. F. Moulden, H. H. Piper, George Burgess, W. H. Pope, R. C. 
Lewis, George Willner, S. P. Robertson, John O'Donoughue, Benjamin M. McCoy, 
G.'T. Bassett, Thomas A. Gant, Clarence M. Barton, B. F. Palmer, F. D. Gaines, 
William R. Hunt, Anthony Bowen, Thomas Carraher; Arthur Shepherd, secretary. 

Territorial Government. 

governor of the district. 

Henry D. Cooke, of Georgetown, from February 2S, 1871, to September 13, 1873. 
Alexander R. Shepherd, of Washington, from September 13, 1873, to June 20, 

1874. 

Secretary to the governor. — William Tindall, May, 1871. 

Surveyor. — William Forsyth, September 23", 1871. 

Attorney. — William A. Cook, 1871 to 1S74. 

Collector.— W . H. Slater, September 23, 1871, to December 1, 1S73; Lewis Cle- 
phane, December 1, 1873, to J ul y 2 °> l8 74- 

Secretary, of the District.— Norton P. Chipman, from March 2, 1S71, to April 21, 
1871; Edward L. Stanton, from May 19, 1S71, to September, 1873; Richard Harring- 
ton, from September 22, 1873, to June 20, 1874. 

board of public works. 

[Appointed March 16, 1S71.] 

The governor of the District ex officio; S. P. Brown, Washington; A. B. Mullett, 
Georgetown; A. R. Shepherd. Washington; James A. Magruder, Georgetown. 

Adolph Cluss, appointed January 2, 1873, vice A. B. Mullett; Henry A. Willard, 
appointed May 22, 1873, vice S. P. Brown; John B. Blake, appointed September 13, 
1873, vice Adolph Cluss. 

THE BOARD OF HEALTH. 
[Appointed' March 15, 1871.] 

N. S. Lincoln, M. D.; T. S. Verdi, M. D.; H. A. Willard; John M. Langston, 
Washington; John Marbury, jr., Georgetown. 

C. C. Cox', M. D., appointed April 3, 1871, vice H. A. Willard; D. W. Bliss, M. D., 
appointed May 23, 1872, vice N. S. Lincoln, M. D. 

DELEGATE TO CONGRESS. 
Norton P. Chipman, elected April 21, 187 1; reelected October 14, 1873, and served 
out his term, ending March 4, 1875. 



316 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. 
[Convened May 15, 1871.] " 

Council. — William Stickney, president; A. K. Browne, Samuel Cross, Frederick 
Douglass, Daniel L. Eaton, John A. Gray, George F. Gulick, Adolphus Hall, Charles 
F. Peck, Daniel Smith, and John W. Thompson. Francis H. Smith, chief clerk. 
Lewis H. Douglass appointed, vice Frederick Douglass, resigned. 

House of delegates. — Charles L. Hulse, speaker; Solomon G. Brown, Joseph T. H. 
Hall, William D. Cassin, John E. Cox, John F. Murray, James A. Handy, George 
Burgess, Adolphus S. Solomons, John F. Ennis, Thomas E. Lloyd, William Dick- 
son, John C. Harkness, Peter Campbell, William W. Moore, John W. McKnight, 
Frederick A. Boswell, William R. Huut, John Hogan, Joseph G. Carroll, Lemuel 
Bursley, and Madison Davis. P. H. Reinhard, chief clerk. 

SECOND LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. 

[Convened April 22, 1S72.] 
Council. — No change. 

House of delegates.— Charles L. Hulse, speaker; Solomon G. Brown, O. S. B. Wall, 
William R. Collins, John E. Cox, John F. Murray, James A. Handy, Samuel R. Bond, 
Henry Piper, John W. Le Barnes, Charles J. Brewer, William Dickson, Arthur Shep- 
herd, Peter Campbell, Warren Choate, John W. McKnight, Frederick A. Boswell, 
William R. Hunt, John Hogan, Joseph G. Carroll, Lemuel Bursley, and Madison 
Davis. M. Pechin, chief clerk. 

THIRD LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. 
[Convened April 28, 1873.] 

Council. —William Stickney, president; Daniel Smith, John H. Brooks, John W. 
Baker, S. M. Golden, Adolphus Hall, John W. Thompson, A. K. Browne, Samuel 
Cross, Joshua Riley, and George F. Gulick. Ernest F. M. Faehtz, chief clerk. 
Samuel Gedney was appointed, vice Daniel Smith, resigned. 

House of delegates.— Reter Campbell, speaker; Solomon G. Brown, O. S. B. Wall, 
E. P. Berry, John E. Cox, Charles L. Hulse, John F. Murray, George W. Dyer, Thomas 
W. Chase, S. S. Smoot, Matthew Trimble, C. J. Brewer, James G. Long, Arthur 
Shepherd, William H. Claggett, J. W. McKnight, J. W. Taliaferro, W. R. Hunt, 
M. E. Urell, Joseph G. Carroll, Sidney W. Herbert, and W. E. Vermillion. William 
J. Donohue, chief clerk. 

FOURTH LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. 

[Convened April 27, 1874.] 

Council.— No change. 

House of delegates. — Arthur Shepherd, speaker; Joseph Brooks, Clement A. Peck, 
Edgar P. Berry, John E. Cox, George B. Wilson, Albert H. Underwood, George W. 
Dyer, Elphonzo Youngs, Robert I. Fleming, William Dickson, Matthew Trimble, 
Leonard Gordon, Charles J. Brewer, John A. Perkins, Samuel P. Robertson, Fred- 
erick A. Boswell, William R. Hunt, M. E. TJrell, Joseph G. Carroll, Lemuel Bursley, 
and Josiah L. Venable. H. A. Hall, chief clerk. 

Board of Commissioners (Temporary). 

William Dennison, July 1, 1874. 
Henry T. Blow, July 1, 1874. 
John H. Ketcham, July 3, 1874. 

Seth Ledyard Phelps, appointed January 18, 1875, vice Henry T. Blow, resigned 
December 31, 1874. 



Forms of Local Government in District of Columbia. 317 

Thomas B. Bryan, appointed December 3, 1877, vice John H. Ketcham, resigned 
June 30, 1S77. 

Lieut. Richard L. Hoxie, Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., detailed as engineer of the 
board July 2, 1874. 

Boards of Commissioners (Permanent). 

First.— Seth Ledyard Phelps, president; Josiah Dent, Maj. William Johnson 
Twining, July 1, 1S7S, to November 29, 1879. 

Second. — Josiah Dent, president; Thomas Phillips Morgan, Maj. William Johnson 
Twining, November 29, 1879, to May 13, 1882. Major Twining died May 5, 1S82. 

Third. — Josiah Dent, president; Thomas Phillips Morgan, Maj. Garret J. Ly- 
decker, May 13, 1S82, to July 17, 1882. 

Fourth.— Joseph Rodman West, president; Thomas Phillips Morgan, Maj. Garret 
J. Lydecker, July 17, 1882, to March 8, 1883. 

Fifth.— Joseph Rodman West, president to March 27, 1S83; James Barker Edmonds, 
Maj. Garret J. Lydecker. James Barker Edmonds, president from March 27, 1883; 
Joseph R. West, Maj. Garret J. Lydecker, March 8, 1883, to July 22, 1885. 

Sixth.— James Barker Edmonds, president; William Benning Webb, Maj. Garret 
J. Lydecker, July 22, 18S5, to April 1, 1886. 

Seventh.— William Benning Webb, president; Samuel Edwin Wheatley, Col. Wil- 
liam Ludlow, April 1, 1886, to January 27, 1888. 

Eighth.— William Benning Webb, president; Samuel Edwin Wheatley, Maj. 
Charles Walker Raymond, January 27, 1888, to May 21, 1889. 

Ninth.— John Watkinson Douglass, president; Lemon Galpin Hine, Maj. Charles 
Walker Raymond, May 21, 1SS9, to February 14, 1890. 

Tenth.— John Watkinson Douglass, president; Lemon Galpin Hine, Lieut. Col. 
Henry Martyn Robert, February 14, 1890, to October I, 1890. 

Eleventh.— John Watkinson Douglass, president; John Wesley Ross, Lieut. Col. 
Henry Martyn Robert, October 1, 1890, to October 15, 1891. 

Twelfth.— John Watkinson Douglass, president; John Wesley Ross, Capt. William 
Trent Russell, October 15, 1891, to March 1, 1893. 

Thirteenth.— John Wesley Ross, president; Myron Melville Parker, Capt. William 
Trent Russell, March 1, 1893, to May S, 1893. 

Fourteenth.— John Wesley Ross, president; Myron Melville Parker, Capt. Charles 
Francis Powell, May S, 1S93, to March 9, 1894. 

Fifteenth.— John Wesley Ross, president; George Truesdell, Capt. Charles Francis 
Powell, March 9, 1894, to March 2, 1S97. 

Sixteenth. — John Wesley Ross, president; George Truesdell, Capt. William Mur- 
ray Black, March 2, 1897, to May 8, 1897. 

Seventeenth. — John Wesley Ross, president; John Brewer Wight, Capt. William 
Murray Black, May 8, 1897, to June I, 1898. 

Eighteenth.— John Brewer Wight, president; John Wesley Ross, Capt. Lansing 
Hoskins Beach, June I, 1898, to May 9, 1900. 

Nineteenth.— Henry Brown Floyd Macfarland, president; John Wesley Ross, 
Capt. Lansing Hoskins Beach, May 9, 1900, to . 

Secretary to the Commissioners. 

William Tindall, July 3, 1874, to . 

Surveyor. 

William Forsyth, July 1, 1871, to August 21, 1877. 
J. A. Partridge, August 21, 1877, to March 2, 1881. 
William Forsyth, April 4, 1881, to August 17, 1S97. 
Henry B. Looker, August 18, 1897, to . 



318 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 



Attorney. 

Edwin L. Stanton, July 3, 1874, to October 30, 1876. 
William Birney, November I, 1S76, to October 31, 1877. 
A. G. Riddle, November 1, 1S77, to December 1, 1S89. 
George C. Hazelton, December 1, 1S89, to May 31, 1S93. 
Sidney T. Thomas, June 1, 1S93, to June 30, 1899. 
Andrew B. Duvall, July 1, 1899, to . 

Collector. 

John F. Cook, July 20, 1S74, to April 30, 188S. 
E. G. Davis, May 1, iSSS, to . 



PLANS FOR TREATMENT OF THAT PORTION 
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SOUTH OF 
PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE AND NORTH OF B 
STREET S. W., AND FOR A CONNECTION BE- 
TWEEN POTOMAC AND ZOOLOGICAL PARKS. 1 



In this paper are presented the plans for the treatment of 
that part of the Capital City lying south of Pennsylvania 
avenue and north of B street, SW., and for a suitable con- 
nection between the Potomac and Zoological Parks, which 
were prepared under the direction of Brig. Gen. John M. 
Wilson, U. S. A., Chief of Engineers, and transmitted to the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives through the Sec- 
retary of War, together with a special report by Mr. Samuel 
Parsons, jr., the landscape architect. 

War Department, 
Washington, December 5 , igoo. 

Sir: Pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress approved June 6, 
1900 (Public, No. 163), I have the honor to transmit herewith copy of 
a letter from the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, dated Novem- 
ber 30, ultimo, together with copy of report from Col. Theo. A. Bing- 
ham, submitting plaus, estimate of cost, etc., for the treatment of that 
section of the District of Columbia situated south of Pennsylvania avenue 
and north of B street SW. , and for a suitable connection between the 
Potomac and Zoological parks. 

I beg to call special attention to these plans and urgently recommend 
favorable consideration and action. 
Very respectfully, 

Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 

The Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

■House Document No. 135, Fifty-sixth Congress, second session. 
H. Doc. 552 2 1 319 



320 Establishment of the Seat of Governmeiit. 

Office of the Chief of Engineers, 

United States Army, 
Washiyigton, November jo, ipoo. 
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith in duplicate a report sub- 
mitting plans for the treatment of that section of the District of Columbia 
situated south of Pennsylvania avenue and north of B street SW., and 
for a suitable connection between the Potomac and Zoological parks. 

This examination was made in accordance with the terms of the act of 
Congress approved June 6, 1900 (Public, No. 163), which provides as 
follows: 

The Chief of Engineers of the United States Army is authorized to make an 
examination and to report to Congress on the first Monday in December, nineteen 
hundred, plans for the treatment of that section of the District of Columbia situated 
south of Pennsylvania avenue and north of B street southwest, and for a suitable 
connection between the Potomac and Zoological parks, and in making such exami- 
nations and plans he is authorized to employ a landscape architect of conspicuous 
ability in his profession; for services and expenses incident to said examination and 
report the sum of four thousand dollars is hereby appropriated. 

The immediate supervision of this work was assigned to Col. T. A. 
Bingham, United States Army, major, Corps of Engineers, the officer in 
charge of public buildings and grounds in the District of Columbia; and 
after careful inquiry, Mr. Samuel Parsons, jr., of New York, a land- 
scape architect of conspicuous ability, was invited to make a study of 
the section of the District of Columbia under consideration and to pre- 
pare a plan and report, outlining a scheme for a park and boulevard 
connecting the United States Capitol, the Washington Monument, the 
Potomac and Zoological parks. 

Mr. Parsons accepted the invitation and brought to the work that 
genius, energy, ability, and devotion to his profession worthy of a land- 
scape architect of conspicuous ability. 

His report is clear and concise, and his suggestions -meet with my 
cordial approval. 

When the subject comes up for action before the proper Congres- 
sional committee, I trust that Mr. Parsons may have an opportunity to 
personally explain more in detail the broad and comprehensive plan he 
now submits. 

The act of Congress made no provision for an estimate, but an 
approximate statement of the probable cost of a. portion of this great 
work is submitted by Colonel Bingham. This, however, does not 
include the value of the area required between Pennsylvania avenue and 
B street north, nor of the area included in Mr. Parson's plan south of B 
street SW. , with the improvements thereon, nor of the area with im- 
provements thereon between Twenty-second and Twenty-fourth streets 
deemed necessary for a suitable connection between the Potomac and 
Zoological parks. 



Improvement of the Capital. 321 

Iu my judgment the plans suggested by Mr. Parsons, if fully carried 
out, will give to the capital of the nation a park system second to that 
of no city on the globe. 

Commending the plans and report to the favorable consideration of 
Congress, I suggest that early action shall be taken toward initiating 
this great enterprise by securing for the Government the title to the 
laud required. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

John M. Wilson, 
Brig. Gen. , Chief of Engineers , U. S. Army. 
Hon. Elihu Root, 

Secretary of War. 



Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, 

Washington, November 75, 1900. 
General: In the sundry civil act approved June 6, 1900 — 
The Chief of Engineers of the United States Army is authorized to make an 
examination and to report to Congress on the first Monday in December, nineteen 
hundred, plans for the treatment of that section of the District of Columbia situated 
south of Pennsylvania avenue and north of B street southwest, and for a suitable 
connection between the Potomac and Zoological parks, and in making such exami- 
nations and plans he is authorized to employ a landscape architect of conspicuous 
ability in his profession. 

The duty of carrying out this provision of the law was assigned to 
me by letter from the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, dated 
June 20, 1900, and its execution at once undertaken. The advice of 
competent professional advisers was sought in order td 1 ascertain what 
gentlemen were, without any doubt, regarded by the profession as land- 
scape architects of "conspicuous ability." By the 20th of July, 1900, a 
preliminary agreement had been reached with the firm of which Mr. 
Samuel Parsons, jr., of New York City, is the senior partner, the firm 
name being Parsons & Pentecost. Mr. Parsons was at the time in Europe, 
but the preliminary work of discussion was completed by the time he 
returned, early in August, and by August 22 the work had been definitely 
assigned to Mr. Parsons. Since that date this work has been vigorously 
pressed, and I now have the honor to transmit herewith Mr. Parsons's 
report, dated November 14, 1900, together with accompanying map. 
Several detail drawings and perspectives and also a model are still to 
arrive, which Mr. Parsons has been unable to get completed at this date. 

It is a pleasure to bear testimony to the interest and enthusiasm with 
which Mr. Parsons and his partner have approached the problem pre- 
sented to them, and I think it will be evidert that the results of their 
work are worthy of the capital city of this great nation, and reflect great 
credit on both gentlemen. 

The plan forwarded herewith has been prepared under pressure for 



322 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

time, when the problems involved are considered. For this reason there 
are some minor points which it is not intended should be carried out 
exactly as they appear on the drawings. I refer to cases where it would 
seem as if existing buildings were to be removed for roadways. These 
minor departures from accuracjr are due to the fact that the draftsmen 
were not personally familiar with the ground they, were delineating. 

Mr. Parsons has also insisted from the beginning that he was present- 
ing a scheme only in general outline, and that while his drawings illus- 
trate the main points of his scheme, it was impossible, from lack of time, 
to make it illustrate such final solution as might be found necessary in 
minor details. He refers to this matter in his report. 

The variations of terrain involved in Mr. Parsons' s plan are intended 
to be produced by earth filling, but he presents no estimate as to the 
quantity of filling required. To obtain this information would require 
accurate surveys of the whole area involved. 

The subject has been gone over in a general way, however, with Mr. 
Parsons, and an approximate estimate is hereto appended. 

The value of the triangle bounded by Pennsylvania avenue, Fifteenth 
street north, and B street north, may be estimated at $7,500,000. This 
does not include the other triangular spaces included in Mr. Parsons's 
plan, and these values must be added to the estimated cost of making 
the park. 

While this is a large amount of money to spend to produce no financial 
return, its expenditure would, without any doubt, make Washington City 
far and away the most beautiful capital of the civilized world. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Theo. A. Bingham, 
Colonel, United States Army, 

Major, Corps of Engineers. 

Brig. Gen. John M. Wilson, 

Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. 



Approximate estimate of the cost of building park on the Mall, Washington, D. C, 
as designed by Parsons <2f Pentecost, landscape architects, New York City. 

Grading: 

From Capitol to fourth transverse road, 2,253,622 cubic yards, at 

20 cents per yard $45°> 7 2 4- 4© 

Masonry, retaining walls: 

First transverse road, 12,316 cubic yards; second tranverse road, 
14,221 cubic yards; third tranverse road, 32,146 cubic yards; 
fourth transverse road, 34,366 cubic yards — 93,049 cubic yards, 

at $8 744> 39 2 - °° 

Roads: 

Drives, 38,340 linear feet, at $4 $I53> 3 6 °- °° 

Gutters, 38,340 linear feet, at $3 115. 020. 00 

268, 3S0. 00 



Improvement of the Capital. 323 

Paths: 

Surfacing 41,400 linear feet, at $1 per foot # 4I , 40O . 00 

Bridle paths: 

Surfacing 15,000 linear feet, at $1.50 per foot 22, 500. 00 

Drainage: 

Lateral system, 38,340 feet of 8-inch pipe, at 30 cents. $11, 502. 00 
Catch-basins — 

10 land basins, at $10 f 100. 00 

3S4 catch-basins for drives, at $10 each . 3, S40. 00 

414 catch-basins for paths, at $6 2, 484. 00 

150 catch-basins for paths (bridle), at 
f 1° each x, 5 oo. 00 

Total cost of catch-basins 7, 524. 00 

Total cost of drainage in 426. 00 

Water system: 

6,000 feet of 4-inch pipe, at 50 cents per foot $3, 000. 00 

10,300 feet of 2-inch pipe, at 25 cents per foot 2, 575. 00 

12 hose bibs, at $10 each I2 o. 00 

50 hose bibs, at $3 each I5D . 00 

Planting, seeding, finishing, hauling good soil, etc., from Capitol to 

fourth transverse road, 352 acres, at $2,000 704, 000. 00 

Bridges (masonry): 

First transverse road, 5,110 cubic yards, at $20 per 

y ar d $102, 200. 00 

Second transverse road, 6,000 cubic yards, at f 20 per 

y ar d 120, 000. 00 

Third transverse road, 6,000 cubic yards, at $20 per 

y ar< i 120, 000. 00 

Fourth transverse road, 6,000 cubic yards, at $20 per 

}" a rd 120, 000. 00 

462, 20a 00 

Total 2, 718, 867. 40 

Contingencies, 15 per cent 407j s 3a j T 

Grand total 3j I26| 6g7 $1 

Asphalting and curbing (if desired): 
Transverse roads — 

First transverse road, 1,000 X 100, 11,111 square yards, at $2 

P^ yard 22, 222. 00 

Curbing, 2,000 feet, at $2 4, coo. 00 

Second transverse road, 320,000 square feet, 35,555 square 

yards, at $2 per yard 71, no. 00 

Curbing, 4,000 feet, at $2 8, 000. 00 

Third transverse road, 3,700 X 160, 592,000 square feet, 65,777 

square yards, at $2 I3Ii 554 . m 

Curbing, 7,400 feet, at f 2 I4> goo. 00 

Fourth transverse road, 4,000 X 160 + 19,652 square feet, 

659,652 square feet, 73,295 square yards, at $2 146, 590. 00 

Curbing, 10,000 feet, at f 2 20, 000. 00 

Total 41S, 276. 00 



324 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

REPORT OF MR. SAMUEL PARSONS, JR., LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT. 

New York, November ij_, igoo. 

Colonel: I have the honor to submit the following report, in accord- 
ance with the terms of the agreement made July 16, 1900, wherein, 
under the sundry civil act approved June 6, 1900, "the Chief of Engi- 
neers of the United States Army is authorized to make an examination 
and report to Congress on the first Monday in December, 1900, plans 
for the treatment of that section of the District of Columbia situated 
south of Pennsylvania avenue and north of B street SW., and for a 
suitable connection between the Potomac and the Zoological Parks," 
and wherein it is also agreed that your landscape architect will prepare 
plans and reports which ' ' will be purely practical suggestions as to the 
proper landscape architectural treatment of the ground above mentioned, 
and will not include working plans or details, but will describe as 
approximately as possible the lines upon which the work should actualty 
be laid out on the ground." 

In seeking to solve the problem of designing a park in the heart of 
Washington, a park which will be worthy not only of a great city but of 
a great National Capital, it is highly important at the very outset to 
discover and define the natural limitations that grow out of the original 
structural lines of the landscape and out of the demands both of the 
residential and of the business interests of the city. 

I think that these propositions will not be denied by persons who 
have realty considered the subject: (1) A park, as a pleasure ground, 
should be set apart and isolated as completely as art can contrive it from 
sound and sight of the surrounding city; and (2) on the same line of 
endeavor the interior of the pleasure ground should be made to suggest 
woodland and meadow scenerj-, so laid out as to afford convenient and 
agreeable access, by means of carriage and bridle roads and footpaths, 
to all points of interest and landscape charm. 

Such a treatment would also assume that while every condition neces- 
sary for the comfort and enjoyment of the public should be kept clearly 
in view, the landscape should be made to take coherent and artistic shape 
from the original peculiar genius or idiosyncraey of the place. 

Under these terms public buildings could not be generally included 
as part and parcel of the essential scheme of the park, but they would 
properly find special territories of their own on the borders of the main 
pleasure ground, where they could be screened with thickly planted trees 
and given a landscape treatment suitable to their character. 

Before proceeding to the consideration of the controlling lines of the 
design I feel that it would be proper to explain that, in undertaking this 
work of advice and suggestion, I have endeavored to assume the liberal 
attitude of the citizen of the United States who, in his earnest desire to 
secure for his country a noble and perfect park, contributes his keenest 



Improvement of the Capital. 325 

endeavors to secure not only the most charming lawns and vistas, but 
also the best adjustment of steam, electric, and other roads for pleasure 
and traffic conveyance. 

These are days of gigantic national and financial development. I do 
not think it is asking too much of the general public that it shall assume 
a sufficiently disinterested attitude to secure for the national capital such 
an ornament and delight as a great park designed in a noble manner. 

In order to explain what I consider an ideal plan, I beg leave to call 
attention to the peculiarly fortunate outline and configuration of the pro- 
posed park. At present it is intended to cover approximately 350 acres, ■ 
which lie in a space bounded by Pennsylvania avenue and B street SW., 
with the Capitol looming up at the east and Washington Monument at 
the west. An oblong territory, occupied mainly by the Botanical Garden, 
the Mall, the Smithsonian Institution, the Agricultural grounds, and the 
territory around the Washington Monument, already belongs to the nation, 
and it is proposed to condemn by law and secure a triangle of land run- 
ning from Pennsylvania avenue on the north, B street north on the south, 
and Fifteenth street on the west. I would suggest that in addition to 
this laud, in order to secure the ideal park, another parcel be acquired, 
bounded by Maryland avenue on the south, B street on the north, and 
Fifteenth street on the west, a range which would be wonderfully effect- 
ive as seen from the base of the Capitol. There the view would widen 
over a great perspective that would include in its very heart the cele- 
brated vista over almost level ground through grand old trees to the 
Washington Monument, which would be the very kernal and innermost 
jewel or shrine of the landscape. 

No arrangement could be more fortunate than this. Its steadily widen- 
ing reach and its unsurpassed vista would make, as it were, a foreground 
and park for the Capitol, emphasizing the fact that, owing to the special 
growth of the city to the west, this side has gained paramount impor- 
tance. 

But the difficulties we shall meet in undertaking to devise such an 
ideal park will not be overcome by securing sufficient land. There are 
existing streets, railroads, buildings, and trees to be considered and 
suitably treated before the task of designing the park will be complete. 

The management of the streets is a difficult problem, if we adhere to 
the vital principle of isolating the park from the city and recognize the 
fact that the grades of the streets can not be materially changed, owing 
to the proximity of the subjacent water. But the difficulty may be 
overcome, as shown on the plan, by retaining only cross streets for traffic, 
and turning them into transverse roads of ample width, screened by 
embankments of earth surmounted by trees on either side, and connected 
at the center of the park and in the exact line of the vista by bridges 
arching .20 feet above the present roadbed. 

In this scheme most of the pleasure movement would cross the park 



326 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

by slightly curved but tolerably direct drives located close to the trans- 
verse roads and nearty parallel with them, thus carrying out more com- 
pletely the generally elliptical scheme of the park. This plan, whenever 
it can be used conveniently, has special artistic value, particularly when, 
as in this case, a blending veil of shade trees can be made to diversify 
the slightly formal appearance of the oft-repeated ovals. 

This arrangement of drives and masked transverse roads and bridges 
kept in close relation with the vistas, it will be readily seen, will natu- 
rally force the main scheme of park development into a series of ovals, 
commencing at the Capitol and extending to the White House, where 
the same idea is repeated in the already constructed ellipses of the White 
Lot and the adjacent public territory. It is a fortunate circumstance 
that the positions of the transverse roads cause the ovals to steadily 
diminish in size, dropping progressively to lower and lower grades as 
they approach the Washington Monument. Thus in the widening spread 
of territory they impart to the landscape a finished and consistent 
perspective, a harmonious cadence and rhythm of effect, and a finely 
lengthened appearance of distance. 

Raising the bridges and foliage of the hidden transverse roads will- 
likewise tend to give an agreeable undulation to the naturally flat sur- 
face of the park, while the changing contours and blending foliage will 
increase the length of the vista. An adjustment of the roads in this 
way will tend to give a desirable concavity and breadth to the interior 
lawns, which are everywhere kept more or less below the levels of the 
roads, and allowed to wind away from the eye in the long graceful 
curves of the ellipse; in this point ' resembling the country roads that 
bend and vanish in charming mystery, for it is proposed to screen all 
these driveways with umbrageous trees. 

Outside of the ovals, the simplicity and effectiveness of the symmetry 
of which constitutes the keynote of the park, we find the drives seeking 
the points of interest and convenience by long curving lines, which are 
so arranged as to mass together as much as possible wide stretches of 
lawn, and in. that way increase the large and dignified quality of the 
design. 

Owing to the concentration of the most distinguished park effects 
about the main vista and ovals, and owing to the proper demand that 
walks, bridle-paths, and drives shall be close to each other so as to 
afford easy human intercourse, and to avoid the great incouvenience 
of losing one's way — a risk that accompanies a more wandering, loosely 
constructed system — I have placed the roads near the lines of the ellipses. 
I am convinced a greater variety of effective views can be secured in this 
way than in any other. 

Nor must the need of solitary places be overlooked. For those who 
wish to wander in seclusion, many walks will be found extending far 
away from the ovals on other and more remote territory. 



Improvement of the Capital. 327 

The treatment of lawns is simple. It is planned to leave hollows, 
meadows, and wide expanses of greensward, excepting 011 either side 
of the pathways and roads; there the shade of trees is encouraged, 
and, fortunately, easily attained. Extended masses of foliage already 
exist, portions of which when displaced by the construction of the 
transverse roads, can be transplanted, after proper root pruning, to 
assist in emphasizing and extending the effects of the main vista to the 
Monument. 

One of the most important features of the plan will be found in the 
new site assigned to the Pennsylvania Railroad station, now a serious 
obstruction to the development of the new park. Its present location, 
if retained, would utterly destroy the harmonious arrangement of the 
ovals and sunken transverse roads, which are the distinguishing char- 
acteristics of the present design. The passage of trains through a park, 
whether over or under or on the level, is always to be deprecated. It 
destroys the restfulness and isolation of the place, and it should be 
prevented by any arrangement that is not absolutely inimical to the 
comfort and. business necessities of the public. A lightning express 
is quite incompatible with a green garden and singing birds. 

The proposed site for the station, it will be seen, is large and com- 
modious, and situated directly in front of the transverse road at Seventh 
street, which is made as wide as Pennsylvania avenue, and only 1,600 
feet from its nearest borders. The station as now situated, in the heart 
of the proposed park, would completely destroy the unity of the park 
design, for it stands at the very point where the loss would be the 
greatest. Under the new arrangement proposed, every advantage in 
the way of electric cars and convenient and commodious foot and car- 
riage ways could be secured, as they could all be brought directly under 
the roof of the station. 

I dwell thus strongly on the importance of a new location for the rail- 
road station because I believe that if all parties genuinely and patriot- 
ically interested in securing a really great park were thoroughly alive to 
the real merits of the question, it would be readily conceded that the 
railroad should be banished to parts where it would be invisible if not 
wholly inaudible from the main drives of the park, and especially from 
the bridges over the transverse roads. Its removal is a serious necessity. 

Concerning the parkway from Washington Monument to the Poto- 
mac 'and the Zoological parks, it should be said that, as far as the 
, beginning of the precipitous portion of the banks of Rock Creek, a 
formal arrangement of footpaths, drives, and bridle-roads is secured, 
whereby the" house lots are reached by two roads, one on each side of 
the parkway. The space of 800 feet in the middle is occupied by a 
park drive, by footpaths and a bridle-road, each of which takes a direct 
course parallel with the adjacent houses, as shown in the accompanying 
detail plan. 



328 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

When the park way reaches the steep hillsides of Rock Creek, it is 
allowed to seek the easiest grades. It occupies a large portion of the 
picturesque slopes with the winding curves of its drives and bridle- 
paths, ending at the boundaries of the Zoological Park at the junction 
of Cathedral avenue and Connecticut avenue, where it completes its 
course in an entrance so enlarged as to include all three avenues. 

There are some things that can be done with the design of a park and 
some things that can not, if an unified and consistent scheme of treatment 
is to be evolved; and the more thoroughly and intelligently these possi- 
bilities and limitations are studied, the more certain the final successful 
development of an artistic and enjoyable pleasure ground will become. 

In my endeavor to make this report concise, I have necessarih' been 
obliged to omit an}' enlargement on many points of interest and impor- 
tance, thy object being chiefly to outline the general principles of the 
scheme, relying on securing at a future time an opportunity to explain 
the full details of the proposed arrangement. 

In conclusion I feel constrained to reaffirm and reemphasize the idea 
to which in this report I have continually endeavored to give expres- 
sion, namely, that a park is both a work of art and a living phase of 
nature. The beauties and advantages of each are to be carefully fostered. 
A fine park is no mechanical or scientific automaton; it is an evolution, 
an ever-growing, ever-changing, organized creation, from which no single 
feature can be taken away with impunity. A true park has living func- 
tions and peculiarities of construction that the most beautiful picture 
does not possess, and these should be molded in accordance with its 
inherent limitations and potentialities for beauty. Let us hope that such 
a park may yet be one of the chief adornments of our National Capitol. 
Respectfully , 

Saml. Parsons, Jr., 

Landscape Architect, 

Col. Theodore A. Bingham, U. S. A., 

In Charge Public Buildings and Grounds. 



I I 







Plate 34. 




PARKWAY BETWEEN PROPOSED MEMORIAL BRIDGE AND ROCK CREEK. 



BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, PERIODICALS, MAPS, AND 
ORIGINAL PLANS OF THE "CENTENNIAL 
EXHIBITION" IN THE DIVISION OF PRINTS, 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON. 1 



Compiled by Mr. Arthur J. Parsons, Chief of the Division of Prints, Library 
of Congress. 



[The following is an inventory of articles exhibited. The items appear in the 
order in which they were arranged in the exhibition. 

The titles of the earl)- Washington imprints here briefly entered ma}- be found 
in bibliographical form in A. P. C. Griffin's "Issues of the District of Columbia 
Press in 1800-1802," published in "Records of the Columbia Historical Society, 
vol. 4."] 



A. Periodicals. 



1. Early imprints. 

2. Early government. 

3. Early Washington. 

4. Historical. 

5. Library of Congress. 

6. Washington Monument. 



B. Books, Pamphlets, and Magazines. 



1. Capitol and White House. 

2. Early governmental publications. 

3. Early imprints. 

4. Earl}- Washington. 

5. Historical. 

6. Library of Congress. 

7. Maps and views of Washington. 
S. Washington Directory and Guide. 



C. Maps and Original Plans. 



1. Washington and District of Columbia. 

2. Capitol. 

1. White House. 



1 See also "List of maps and views of Washington and District of Columbia," by 
P. L. Phillips, Senate Document 154, Fifty-sixth Congress, first session. — Editor. 

329 



330 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

A. Periodicals. 

"WASHINGTON CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION: 
Early imprints. 

Notice. — All persons having any accounts open with Mr. Anthony 
Whiting, deceased, my late manager, etc. (Signed) G. Wash- 
ington. 

In "The Columbian Mirror and Alexandria Gazette." Alexandria, 
July 6, 1793. 
[Notice of sale of land in town of Alexandria by George Washington.] 

/;/ "Alexandria Advertiser." August 2, 1797. 
Alexandria Advertiser. Alexandria, Va., July 9, 1798. 

[First magazine published in Washington.] 

i.e. " The National Magazine, or a political, historical, biographical, 
and literary repository. Number VII, vol. ii. District of Colum- 
bia. Printed by the editor, [Dec. ?~\ 1800. 
Note. — The earlier numbers were published in Richmond. 

Advertisement ' 'A new work, The Private IJfe of Washington, with 
a great number of original anecdotes, by M. L. Weems," 

In "Georgetown Museum \and~\ Advertiser." Wednesday March 75, 
1809. 

Daily Federal Republican. Georgetown, November 26, 1814. 
Early government. 

Proposals for carrj'ing the mail of the United States. 

In "The Universal Gazette." Washington, January 20, 1803. 
Early Washington. 

Scheme of a lottery for the purpose of disposing of valuable property 
in the District of Columbia. 
In "The George-Town Weekly Messenger." March 31, 1792. 
[Advertisement for bids for building a bridge over Eastern Branch.] 
In "Alexandria Advertiser and Commercial Intelligencer." April 7, 
1S01. 

[Sale of lots b5 7 the Commissioners.] 

/;/ "The National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser." Wash- 
ington, November 25, 1S01. 

Bill to reduce the height of the houses of Washington. 

In " National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser." Washington, 
January 17, 1802. 

Removal of the seat of government. 

In " Colvin's Weekly Register." Washington City, February 13, 180S. 
Observations on the District of Columbia. No. VI. 

In " Washington Expositor." Saturday, March 26, 1808. 
Public buildings. 

/>/ " The Daily National Intelligencer." Washington, April /j, 1S16. 
An abstract [from the returns made by the principal assessor of the 
District of Columbia to the Treasury Department.] 

In "The Daily National Intelligencer." Washington, October 5, 1S16. 



Centennial Exhibit in Library of Congress. 331 

Historical. 

An act making an appropriation in the aid of the city of Washington. 
/;/ " The Daily National Intelligencer." Washington, May 23, 1813. 
Extract of a letter from a gentleman of the first respectability, in 
Baltimore, to a friend in this city. 
In " The Aurora." Philadelphia, August 20, 1814. 
Battle at Bladensburg ; Entry of the enemy into Washington ; Navy 
Yard and public buildings destroyed. 
In " The New York Gazette and General Advertiser." New York, 
August 2g, 1814. 

Loss of the Capital, and alarm in Baltimore. 

In " New England Palladium." Boston, August 30, 1814. 

Capture of Washington. 

In "Essex Register." Salem, Mass., August 3/, 1814. 

Washington Cit}' taken. 

In "Columbian Centinel." Boston, August 31 , 1814. 
City of Washington destroyed. 

In "Boston Gazette." Boston, September 1 , 18 14. 
The British in Washington. 

In "Boston Gazette." Boston, September j, 181 4. 
Washington City taken. 

In "The Independent Chronicle." Boston, September 1, 1814. 
Authentic account of the capture of Washington. 

In "The Weekly Messenger." Boston, September 2, 181 4. 

Almost incredible victory. 

In ' ' The Daily National Intelligencer. ' ' Washington, February 6, 1815. 
Library of Congress. 

Purchase of Mr. Thomas Jefferson's library for the Library of Con- 
gress. 

In "The Daily National Intelligencer." Washington, October 18, 1814. 
Congressional Library. 

In "The Daily National Intelligencer." Washington, July 31, 1S13. 
Washington Monument. 

[Debate in House of Representatives on the erection of a monument 
to George Washington in Washington.] 
In "The National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser." Wash- 
ington City, December 8, 1800. 

B. Books, Pamphlets, and Magazines. 

'.'WASHINGTON CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION." 

VIEWS OF THE CAPITOL AND WHITE HOUSE. 
Capitol. 

The Capitol, Washington. Drawn and engraved by Detournelle. 

/;/ D. B. Warden's "Chorographical and statistical description of the 
District of Columbia." p. 34. Paris, 1816. 



332 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Capitol — Continued. 

View of the Capitol of the United States after the conflagration in 
1814. Engraved by Alexander Lawson. 
In Jesse Torrey's "A portraiture of domestic slavery in the United 
States ' ' [ frontispiece] , Philadelphia, 181J. 

Description of the Capitol. 

In Win. Elliot's "The Washington Guide." p. 14. Published by 
S. A. Elliot. City of Washington , 1S26. 

Oestliche fronte des Capitols von Washington. 

In Carl Bernhard's " Reise durc/i Nord Amerika in 1825 und 1826." 
p. 270. Weimer, 1828. 

Front view of the Capitol, Washington. 

In "The American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge" 
for August, 1S35. p. 5/9. Boston, 1835. 

View of the Capitol of Washington. 

In "American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge" fot 
October, 1836. p. 26. Boston, 1836. 

East front of Capitol at Washington City. Engraved by Graham 
after a drawing by Burton. 

In "Burton's Gentleman's Magazine" for November, 1839. Vol. /", 
/. 231. Philadelphia, fSjg. 

View of the Capitol at Washington. Engraved by C. J. Bentley 
from a drawing by W. H. Bartlett. 

In N. P. Willis's "American Scenery." Vol. I, p. 36. London, 1840. 

The Capitol of the United States. Engraved by E. Griinewald 
after a drawing by H. Brown. 

In "Our Globe," a universal picturesque album, p. Si. Philadelphia 
[1S40?]. 

Interior of the House of Representatives, Washington. Engraved 
from a drawing by W. Goodacre. 

In f. H. Hinton' s "History and topography of the United States." 
Vol. 2, p. 327. London, 1842. 

The Capitol at Washington. 

In "The Western Miscellany." p. 06. Dayton, Ohio, 1S4S. 

[Capitol, west front. Dr. Thornton, architect.] 

In J. Calvin Smith's "The illustrated hand-book, a new guide for 
travelers through the United States of America." p. 101. New 
York, 1S49. 

Senate Chamber. 

In Wm. Q. Force's " 'Picture of Washington and its vicinity, for 1S50." 
p. 64. Washington, 1830. 

White House. 

The President's House, from Washington. Engraved by W. Rad- 
clyffe from a drawing by W. H. Bartlett. 
In N.P. Willis' s " American Scenery ." Vol. II, p. 32. London, 1S40. 

TrrJ- l/S~r of tfc. 7~*U»& ^^ ~ tfc. C^ -fl LVaJ^f^. 



Centennial Exhibit in Library of Congress. 333 

White House — Continued. 

[View of the President's House.] 

In J. S. Buckingham's "America, historical, statistic, and descriptive." 
Vol. I, p. 310. Lotidon [184s]. 

President's House, Washington. 

In A. W. Franklin's" American Cottage Library." p. 58. New York, 
1848. 

The President's House at Washington. 

In R. C. Smith's "An introductory geography, designed for children." 
p. 53. New York, 1S51. 

Early governmental publications. 

[First Census.] Return of the whole number of persons within the 
several districts of the United States according to "An act pro- 
viding for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the United 
States," passed March the first, one thousand seven hundred 
and ninety-one [ninety] . 
Printed by Childs & Sivaine. Philadelphia, j 791. 
Letter and report of the Secretary of the Treasury, accompanied 
with sundry statements relative to the Military and Naval 
establishments, and to the fortification of the ports and harbours 
of the United States. 

Published by order of the House of Representatives, February 7, ijg8. 
Printed by W. Ross. 

Goldsborough, Charles W. An original and correct list of the 
United States Navy, containing a list of the ships in commis- 
sion, and their respective force. A list of officers and their rank 
as well as those belonging to the Navy as the Marine Corps, 
and a digest of the principal laws relating to the Navy, etc. 
City of Washington. November, 1800. 
[First United States Army Register.] 

Military Fstablishment. 1802. 
[Smith, Samuel Harrison.] History of the last session of Congress, 
which commenced on the seventh of December, 1801. 

Taken from the "Daily National Intelligencer." Printed by S. H. 
Smith. City of Washington , 1802. 

[First Blue Book.] Message from the President of the United 
States transmitting a roll of the persons having office or employ- 
ment under the United States. Published by order of the 
Senate, February 16, 1802. 

Printed by William Duane. Washington City, 1S02. 

[Congressional Directory.] Places of abode of the members of 
both Houses of Congress, first session of Eleventh Congress. 
[1809.] 

Register of the Army of the United States. 

{Adjutant and Inspector General's Office.) Washington, August 16, 
1813. 



334 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Early governmental publications — Continued. 

[First Naval Register.] Letter from the Secretary of the Navy, 
transmitting a list of all the commissioned officers in the Navy 
of the United States, showing their respective rank, and dates 
of the commissions; also, a list of all the midshipmen, with the 
dates of their warrants. 

Printed by R. C. Weight-man, Washington City, iSrj. 
[First Biennial Blue Book.] A register of officers and agents, civil, 
military, and naval, in the service of the United States, on the 
thirtieth day of September, 1816; together with the names, 
force, and condition of all the ships and vessels belonging to the 
United States, and when and where built. 
Prepared at the Department of State, in pursuance of a resolution of 
Congress of the 2jth of April, 1S16. Printed by Jonathan Elliot. 
City of Washington, 1816. 

Congressional Directory, for the second session of the Fourteenth 
Congress of the United States. 

Printed by Daniel Rapine, Washington City, 1S16. 

[First Patent Report.] A list of patents granted by the United 
States, for the encouragement of arts and sciences, alphabeti- 
cally arranged, from 1790 to 1820; containing the names of the 
patentees, their places of residence, and the dates of the patents 
* * *; also, all the acts passed by Congress on the subject of 
patents. 

Printed and sold by Alfred Elliot. Washington, D. C, July 20, 1S20. 
Congressional Directory, for the first session of the Seventeenth 
Congress of the United States. 
Printed by Daniel Rapine. Washington City, 1821. 
Table of post-offices in the United States, with the names of the 
postmasters, the counties and States in which they are situated ; 
and the distances from the city of Washington, and the capitals 
of the respective States. 
By direction of the Postmaster-General. Printed by Way & Gideon. 
Washington City, 1825. 
Gordon, Wm. A. A compilation of the registers of the Army of 
the United States from 18 15 to 1837 (inclusive). * * * 
Printed by James C. Dunn. Washington, /S37. 
Early imprint. 

The Potomak Almanac, or the Washington Ephemeris for the year 
of our Lord, 1793. 
Printed and sold by James Doyle. George-Town (Potomak). 

[Woodward, A. B.] Considerations on the government of the Ter- 
ritory of Columbia. * * * 

Printed for the author by S. H. Smith. Washington, Jletropo/is of the 
United Slates, 1S01. 
Note. — Constitutes No. 1-4 of a series of articles. Nos. 5, 7 are 
entered below. 



Centennial Exhibit in Library of Congress. -ixz. 

Early imprint — Continued. 

Woodward, A. B. Considerations on the substance of the sun. 

Printed by Way and Groff. Washington, Metropolis of the United States 
of America, September, 1S01. 

Jefferson, Thomas. A manual of parliamentary practice for the use 
of the Senate of the United States. 
Printed by S. H. Smith. Washington City, i&oi. 

The clerical candidates, a poem. 

Washington City, November 14, /So/. 

Workman, James. Political essays relative to the war of the French 
Revolution — viz: An argument against continuing the war for 
the subversion of the republican government of France. - 
Printed by Cotton & Stewart, Royal street, Alexandria, /So/. 
In "Political Pamphlets" Vol.101. 

[Blodget, S.] Thoughts on the increasing wealth and national 
economy of the United States. 
Printed by Way and Groff. North E street, City of Washington, /So/. 
In "Miscellaneous Pamphlets," Vol. 033, 

[Woodward, A. B.] Epaminondas on the government of the Ter- 
ritory of Columbia. No. V. * * * 
Printed by Green and English. George-Town, Territory of Columbia, 
/So/. 

Woodward, A. B. Considerations on the government of the Terri- 
tory of Columbia. No. VII. 
Printed by S. Snowden & Co. Alexandria, Territory of Columbia, 
fanuary, /802. 

The Gambler, or memoirs of a British officer, distinguished in the 
War of the Revolution. 
Printed by W. Dunne & Son. Washington City, 1802. 

Dinmore, Richard. Select and fugitive poetry; a compilation: with 
notes biographical and historical. 
Printed at the Franklin Press. Washington City, 1802. 

Ogilvie, James [instructor of youth in the Stevensburg Academy] . 
Cursory reflections on government, philosophy, and education. 
Printed by f. & f. D. Westcott. Alexandria, 1802. 
In "Political Pamphlets," Vol. 08. 

Paine (Thomas), Letters from, to the citizens of the United States 
on his arrival from France. 
Printed at the Apollo Press, W. Duane & Son. Washington City, 1802. 
In "■ Political Pamphlets," Vol. 17. 

Austin, David. The national "Barley Cake," or, the "Rock of 
Offence" into a "glorious Holy Mountain," in discourses and 
letters. 

Washington, District of Columbia, 1802. 
In " Theological Pamphlets," Vol. 6. 
H. Doc. 552 22 



336 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Early imprint — Continued. 

Sidney, Algernon. A vindication of the measures of the present 
administration. 

Printed by Samuel H. Smith, City of Washington, 1803. 

In " Political Pamphlets," Vol. 104. 
Observations on the intended canal in Washington City. 

City of Washington , 1S04. 

I?i " Duane Pamphlets " Vol. 128. 

[Blodget, S.] Economica; a statistical manual for the United States 
of America. 

Printed for the author. City of Washington, 1806. 

The Alexandria Almanack for the year of our Lord 1807. * * * 

Printed by Cottom & Stewart. Alexandria [180 f\. 
Edgeworth, Miss [Maria] . The modern Griselda, a tale. 

Published by foseph Milligan. George Town,i8io. {First American 
edition. .] 
The Alexandria Almanack for the year of our Lord 18 12. * * * 

Printed by Cottom & Stewart. Alexandria \_r8i2~\. 
The Bladensburg races, written shortly after the capture of Wash- 
ington City, August 24, 1 8 14. 
' Printed for the purchaser. 18 16. 

Early Washington. 

[Lear, Tobias.] Observations on the River Potomack, the country 
adjacent, and the City of Washington. 
Printed by Loudon & Btower. New York, 1794. 

Look before you leap; or, a few hints to such artizans, mechanics, 
labourers, farmers, and husbandmen as are desirous of emigrat- 
ing to America * * * applying particularly to the Federal 
City of Washington. 
London, 1796. 
La Rochefoucault Liancourt, F. A. F. due de. Travels through the 
United States of North America, the country of the Iroquois, and 
Upper Canada. * * * 
Vol. 2, p. J12. London, 1700. 
Front view of the President's House in the City of Washington. 

In C. W. fanson's " The Stranger in America." Albion Press. 
London, 1S07. 
Historical. 

[Parker, Brig. Gen. Thomas.] A narrative of the Battle of Bla- 
densburg in a letter to Henry Banning , esq. , by an officer of 
General Smith's staff. 
[fS/4.] /6 pp. Plate. 

An enquiry respecting the capture of Washington by the British, 
on the 24th August, 1814: With an examination of the report 
of the committee of investigation appointed by Congress. By 
Spectator. 

Washington City. Printed 1816. 



Centennial Exhibit in Library of Congress. 337 

Historical — Continued. 

Sketch of the engagement on the 24th of August between the 
British and American forces. 

In E. D. Ingraham's "Sketch of the events which preceded the capture 
of Washington by the British on the 24th of August, /S/4." \_Opp. 
title page. ] Philadelphia, /S40. 

View of the President's House after the conflagration, August 24, 
1814. 
Co/01 ed aquatint by W. Strickland, after a drawing by G. Munger. 

Capitol after the conflagration, 18 14. 

Colored aquatint by W. Strickland , after a drawing by C. Munger. 
Library of Congress. 

Report of the joint committee appointed to take into consideration 
the arrangement of books and maps belonging to Congress. 
December iS, /So/. Printed by order of the Senate of the United Stales. 
{Washington, i8oi.~\ 

Catalogue of books, maps, and charts belonging to the Library of 
the two Houses of Congress, April, 1802. 

Printed by William Duane, Washington City [/So?]. [First catalogue 
of the Library. 

Catalogue of the Library of the United States, to which is annexed 

a copious index alphabetically arranged. 

Printed by Jonathan Elliot. Washington, /815. [First catalogue after 

the partial destruction of the Library by the burning of the Capitol. 

Comprises exclusively titles of books purchased from Thomas 

Jefferson.} 

Maps and Views of Washington. 

Plan of the City of Washington. 

In " The Massachusetts Magazine" for May, /7Q2, p. 283. Boston, 
'79 2 - 
Plan of the City of Washington; now building for the metropolis of 
America, and established as the permanent residence of Congress 
after the year 1800. 

Engraved by B. Baker, and published by W. Bent, /703. In " The 
Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure" for July, /703, 
p. 4/. London, /703. 

Plan of the City of Washington [Ellicott survey] . 

//; " The Literaiy Magazine," p. 40. Published by f. Good, London, 
\.'793\- 

Washington City. 

In S. S. Moore's and T. W. Jones's "Traveller's Directory, or a pocket 
companion from Philadelphia to Neiv York and from Philadelphia 
to Washington." Plate 23. Philadelphia, /802. 

George-Town and City of Washington. Engraved by George Cooke. 
In John Pinker/on' s " General 'collection of the best and. most interesting 
voyages and travels." Vol. /2, p. 343. London, /S12. 



338 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Maps and Views of Washington — Continued. 

A correct map of the City of Washington, capital of the United 
States of America. Engraved by W. I. Stone. 
In Peter Force' s "National Calendar for 1S20." [Appendix.] Wash- 
ington, 1S20. 

Map of Washington. 

In J. M. Duncan's "Travels through part of the United States and 
Canada in 181S and 18 19." Vol. I, p. 251. Glasgow, 1823. 

Plan of the City of Washington, seat of government of the United 
States. 

In "The Washington Directory." [Opposite title page. ,] Printed and 
published by S. A. Elliot. City of Washington , 1827. 

Washington. Engraved by J. E. Neagle, from a drawing by J. R. 
Smith. 

In Malte Prun's "System of Geography." Vol. II, p. 222. Boston, 
1834. 

Sketch of the City of Washington, made about 1852, by either 
Luetz or Frank Mahon, from the Coast Survey window. 

Washington Directory and Guide. 

[First Director)^.] The Washington Directory, showing the name, 
occupation, and residence of each head of a family and person 
in business; the names of the Members of Congress and where 
they board, together with other useful information. 
By John Delano. Washington, 1822. 

[First Washington Guide Book.] The Washington Guide, con- 
taining an account of the District of Columbia, the City of 
Washington, etc. 
Printed and published by S. A. Elliot. Washington, November, 1822. 

C. Maps and Original Plans. 

"WASHINGTON CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION." 
Washington, and District of Columbia. 

Columbia, or Federal City. Middle States of North America, show- 
ing the position of the Geneseo country comprehending the 
counties of Ontario and Steuben as laid off in townships of six 
miles square each. 

New York, 1791. Engraved by Maverick. 

Columbia, or Washington, the Capital of America. Map of the 
Middle States of North America with part of Canada, showing 
the situation of the principal towns, viz: Columbia, Baltimore, 
Philadelphia, and Montreal; also their several communications 
with respect to Lake Ontario. 
'79'- 



Centennial Exhibit in Library of Congress. 339 

Washington, and District of Columbia — Continued. 

Columbia, new seat of government of the United States. A map of 
the Genesee tract, in the county of Ontario, and State of New 
York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, also its distance from the new 
City of Columbia, or the proposed seat of government of the 
United States. 
1791. 

Plan of the City of Washington, in the Territory of Columbia, ceded 
by the States of Virginia and Maryland to the United States of 
America and by them established as the seat of government, 
after the year 1800. 
Engraved by Thackara & Vallance. Philadelphia, 1792. 

Map of Washington, in the District of Columbia. Showing the 
lines of the various properties at the division with the original 
properties in 1792. 

Published and copyrighted by James M. Stewart, Washington, 1884. 
Territory of Columbia. First topographical survey of the District 
of Columbia, 1793. 
Drawn by Andrew Ellicott. 

Plan of Washington, in the District of Columbia. 

By Dennis Griffith. Published in Philadelphia, June 6, 1795. En- 
gravers, J. Thackara & J. Vallance. 

Plan of the town of Alexandria, in the District of Columbia, 1798. 
Published by J. V. Thomas, Alexandria. Engraved by T. Clark. N. V. 

Plan of the City of Washington, in the Territory of Columbia, ceded 
by the States of Virginia and Maryland to the United States of 
America, and by them established as the seat of government, 
after the year, 1800. 
Boston. Engraved by Samuel Hill. 

A map of the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia. 
Taken from actual survey, as laid out on the grounds \>y R. 
King, Surveyor of the City of Washington. 

Washington, /Soj. Engraved by C. Schwarz. [At the lower left-hand 
corner, Elevation of S. Front of President's House, by James Hoban. 
/ ower right-hand corner, Elevation of east front of Capitol, by Dr. 
Thornton. ] 

Plan de la Ville de Washington situee sur le Territoire de Columbia 
cede par les Etats de Virginie et Maryland aux Etats Unis 
d'Amerique et etabli par eux comme le Siege de leur Gouv- 
ernement depuis l'Annee 1800. 

Par Piere Francois Tardieu, Graveur, Editeur-proprietaire , Place de 
1' Estrapade No. 18, a Paris, 1S0S. 

Plan of the City of Washington, seat of Congress of the United 
States. 
Printed and published by S. A. Elliot. City of Washington, 1827. 



340 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

Washington, and District of Columbia — Continued. 

Map of the City of Washington. 

Published by John Brannan, 1828. Drawn by F. C. De Krafft, City 
Surveyor. Engraved by Mrs. W. I. Stone. 

District of Columbia, a map of Georgetown. 

By William Bussard, 1830. Engraved by William Harrison, Wash- 
ington, D. C. 

District of Columbia. Topographical map of the original District 
of Columbia and environs, showing the fortifications around 
the City of Washington. 
By E. G. Arnold, C. E. Published by G. Woolworth Cotton. Mew 
York, 1862. 
Capitol. 

Stephen Hallet, Architect. 

Plan Ai. — Plan of the ground and principal floors of a project for the 

Federal Capitol, sent from Philadelphia to the Board in July, 1793. 
Plan Ci. — The ground floor of a plan laid before the Board in October, 1793. 
Plan Di . — The ground floor of a plan presented to the Board in January, 1 794. 
Principal floor. ( Competitive plan. ) 
Plan C3. — Elevation of the principal floor. 
Plan D2. — Elevation of the principal floor of Plan Di. 
Plan B2. — Elevation of Plan Bi. 
Plan C2. — Second floor. 
Plan E5. — Second section of Plan El. 

Fragment of an anal}'sis used for laying the lines and fixing the parts 7. 
West elevation. (Competitive plan. ) 

Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820), Architect. 

Plan of principal floor for one of the Houses of Congress. 

Plan of the principal story of the Capitol, 1S06. 

Arcade and colonnade. 

President's chair, Senate Chamber. 

North Wing — Offices of the Judiciary. 

Cross section of the House of Representatives. 

South Wing — Sketch of a section in the Doric, Roman style, for the 

consideration of the President, as to the propriety of a Doric 

colonnade. 
South Wing — Radius of the colonnade of the House of Representatives 

to the center of the column. 
Study for a West Front. 

Dr. William Thornton (1761-1827), Architect. 
Plan for principal floor. 

[Presented to Mr. Latrobe by George Blagden, as the only existing 
drawing of the Capitol, May 4, 1S03.] 
East elevation. ( Competitive plan. ) 
Principal floor. 
White House. 

Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820), Architect. 
East Front, with addition of North Wing. 
Plan of the principal floor, South Front. 



BEAUTIFYING THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 



By William V. Cox. 



The following remarks of the secretary of the Joint Committee, which 
were published in the Evening Star of December 5, 1900, are pertinent 
to the subject of the Centennial Celebration and its purpose : 

If the embellishment of the capital city is ever to be accomplished, now is the 
time when it should be begun. The national legislative body, which must be looked 
to for carrying out such plans, has authorized the preparation of designs and data 
for a comprehensive park system. The heads of the different Executive Departments 
have renewed their recommendations for the construction of a hall of records and 
the District Commissioners for a municipal building. In other words, the require- 
ments alone now call for these structures. Therefore, it would seem that every 
organization, every individual having at heart the making of the capital city of the 
great American nation one of noble, lasting structures, grouped appropriately and 
of imposing design, a seat of government of such systematic layout and impressive 
grandeur as would be expected of and would befit such a progressive country, every 
individual in every part of our great Republic who looks to a future Washington as 
the father of our country planned it, should join in an appeal that this work be begun 
now, at the capital's centennial and the twentieth century's dawn. 

The approaching centennial celebration of the removal of the capital from Phila- 
delphia to Washington can not but inspire reflections on the present condition of the 
city of Washington. A hundred years ago the building of the Capitol had been only 
partially completed. The noble building that now stands overlooking the city, and 
which is the admiration of the world, had not yet been conceived in its entirety by 
its architect. The Executive Mansion was just ready for occupancy. Subsequently 
the splendid group of buildings, such as the Treasury, with its imposing facade facing 
the Potomac, unfortunately later extended into the line of Pennsylvania avenue, 
was erected. The magnificent War, State, and Navy building is of a more recent 
date, and if architecturally not as attractive as some of the other buildings, still it 
must be conceded that it serves its purpose in a most admirable manner. Of recent 
buildings, the most striking is the superb Library of Congress, which forms a valuable 
adjunct to the Capitol. 

A hundred years ago there were a few scattered houses on almost impassable roads. 
Now palatial residences abound on magnificent avenues paved with asphalt. Primi- 
tive pathways have given way to granolithic pavements. In those days the cumber- 
some stage coach brought the wear}' traveler to the new capital. Now steam or 
electric railways, with all the luxuries of modern civilization, bring the visitor to 
our gates and transport him in horseless carriages to palatial hotels. 

341 



342 Establishment of the Seat of Government. 

In the original plans of the capital it is clearly shown that it was the intention of 
our forefathers to reserve the territory on the south side of Penns3 - lvania avenue in 
which to erect public buildings. The demands for business purposes led to the 
temporary abandonment of this policy, but more than ten years ago Seth Milligan, 
then chairman of the House Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, revived 
the plan of preserving the south side of the avenue for administration buildings, 
and, indeed, it may be said in consequence of his efforts the project has since been 
kept alive. The members of the centennial committee were in thorough sympathy 
with this proposition, and consequently they recommended to Congress in a com- 
prehensive plan, which should include the connecting of the Mall and the Potomac 
Park with the National Rock Creek Park, the improvement of that portion of Wash- 
ington. Mr. Samuel Parsons, jr., who was for many years connected with Central 
Park in New York City, has presented an elaborate plan for the artistic treatment 
of these parks, which was submitted to Congress on December 5, 1900, by the Secre- 
tary of War, and, together with the letters of transmittal through the proper official 
channels, is printed in the appendix. 

To the centennial committee is also due much of the credit for the interest in a 
memorial bridge which should connect Potomac Park with Arlington, the home of 
the nation's dead, and later by a broad boulevard with Mount Vernon, where the 
dust of the immortal Washington is preserved. 

The persistent agitation of this comprehensive scheme for the beautifying of the 
nation's capital has unquestionably been stimulated by the active measures that 
have been so effective in beautifying the city of Chicago, with its splendid parks, 
driving roads, and connecting boulevards; and of New York, with its elaborate series 
of parks in the city above the Harlem River. The plan of the city of Washington 
is admirably adapted for such a scheme, and the centennial committee, having in 
mind the opportuneness of the occasion, is exceedingly anxious that the new cen- 
tury should be inaugurated by some active steps being taken toward the culmination 
of such a project. The American Institute of Architects has shown very great inter- 
est in the matter, and will soon hold a meeting in this city, when several of its most 
eminent members will present papers on the future grouping of Government build- 
ings, landscapes, and statuary in this city.' The encroachments on the Executive 
Mansion for business offices demand that a suitable residence should be provided for 
the President. Whether this proposition will best be accomplished by the building 
of a new home for the Chief Executive or by the enlargement of the present edifice 
is a matter that will come up for consideration. 

The line of old forts and earthworks from Fort Reno to Fort Totten should for 
history's sake be preserved as a battlefield park. It was at Fort Stevens, midway 
in this line, where President Lincoln stood exposed to the Confederate fire, and it 
was this fort that saved the capture of the capital of the nation by Gen. Jubal A. 
Early during the engagements of July 11 and 12, 1S64. The site where Commodore 
Joshua Barney planted his guns in 1814, to stop the advance of the British to Bla- 
densburg, should also be marked as one of the few creditable incidents of the cam- 
paign of General Ross and Admiral Cockburn that resulted in the capture of 
Washington. 

The history of a nation's capital is the history of a nation, and the time is now 
ripe for us to take advantage of the ability and talent possessed by our American 
architects, sculptors, and artists to evolve something that should be in the highest 
degree representative of the genius of the nation. More and more is Washington 
becoming the center for that which is representative in the highest degree of the 

1 See " Papers relating to the improvement of the city of Washington," by Glenn 
Brown, with introduction by Charles Moore. Government Printing Office, 1901. 



Beautifying the National Capital. 343 

culture of the American people. It is already recognized as the greatest scientific 
center in the United States, and institutions of learning are rapidly increasing. 
A great national university is destined to spring from the nuclei that have already 
obtained a foothold. Cathedrals, art galleries, and special museums will follow in 
time. Steps have already been taken toward the erection of a building for the 
National Geographic Society, and the Washington Academy of Sciences has pur- 
chased a site on which it is proposed to erect a temple to science. It was to Wash- 
ington that the famous message, "What hath God wrought?" first flashed over 
the wires from Baltimore. It was the home of Henry, from whose researches the 
electric telegraph became a possibility, and it is now the home of Bell, to whom we 
owe the telephone. The time is now opportune and should not be neglected . 

H. Doc. 552 23 

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aiul lr preserve t/nroiufh the udwh a reciprocity of stfflit at thie same time 
^Attention has hen paid //< the papituf -^o/ those Icadetuj^Aut 
most favorable e/wimd for prospect mid 

hJVbj?T'/f and South Unes intersected hf ollicrs running due East a 
Wesbj-mah l/u distribution,^ the Cihj into Streets, Sauarcs, £G. and 
lines 'have "been So combined a.-, ft? meet <il certain, awerv points with those 
•ergcnAidvenuASj SO as lo form on the Spaces- first determined, the different 



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TlIE ./iiiml. tmnua, anib such Streets as, 

places, anjrom ISO h> tSoJed, iviile, anil m 

into Joot ways, walks oftrccs, and a carnage ivay 

arejrom .<)<• to HOjeel wUh 

iNorder tocxccutc thisfUtrv, Mi ELLIWtf drew a true Meridional 

Urn I'// celestial observation, which/papcs through ih, . Inn inUndedJbr the 

Ciini, I this line in erased, fa anolhei due East and Mst, which p^Ses thvugh 

l,- r „ These lines urn accurately measured and made Ihr lasts on 
which tht whole plan was executed Hi ran all tbt lines b/a Transit Instru- 
ment, and tlelermincd tht ■ icule ■ iiujlcs Inj actual measurement, and lr/1 

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